Tangled Webs
by Warriora
Summary: Sasuke wants revenge. Naruto wants his friend back. Dumbledore has the solution. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura travel to Hogwarts to protect Harry while Dumbledore, Akatsuki, and Voldemort conspire in the background. Shippuuden, Half-Blood Prince.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Severus Snape crept towards the graveyard in sync with the ever-rolling mist. His mind was cleared of any delicate information and his mask, silver and metaphorical, was in place. His destination, a towering marble headstone marked _Tom Riddle_, loomed into view, glowing an eerie gold in the light from the small village down the hill. In time with his own footsteps, he could see other figures in black robes and silver masks approaching the Riddle tombstone. As if planned, they reached their spots in the circle in unison. They kneeled, faces lowered toward the ground.

Lord Voldemort looked down on them in silence for several minutes. He had risen hardly two months ago, but already the holes in his circle of followers had been filled with new recruits. Already, word was washing like a tidal wave, only to the right people, of course, of his return. Already, he was regaining his foothold in power.

"Rise," he commanded softly, and the Death Eaters rose.

Snape, looking at the Dark Lord for the first time this night, couldn't help his startled blink of surprise. He quickly schooled his expression back into blankness and cleared his mind, however, and simply observed the stranger standing beside the Dark Lord.

Indeed, a strange boy stood beside Voldemort, seemingly bored with the proceedings. His height and complete lack of wrinkles placed him somewhere around fourteen (and Severus was good with ages, being a teacher for as many years), but his eyes had a cold blankness he rarely saw in anyone younger than, well, himself. The young teenager had hair so black it appeared blue in the starlight, and his too-old eyes glinted the same color. His skin was pale and flawless, and there was a passively arrogant look on his aristocratic features. All in all, Snape was reminded of Sirius Black. This boy obviously came from that same type of family; the type that was more interested in proper breeding than love.

As if sensing Snape's attention, even through the silver mask, the blue-black eyes snapped to his, and Snape instantly willed himself not to step back from the sudden onslaught of cold hostility. The teen's eyes swept the rest of the Death Eaters in a similar manner.

"Could you please inform your cohorts," he drawled to the Dark Lord with just enough of an accent that Snape could tell he was foreign, "that I do not appreciate being stared at?"

It wasn't a question. Voldemort gave him a cold sidelong look, clearly thinking the same thing.

Instead of relaying the message, Voldemort said, "Please forgive my lapse in manners, my dear followers. This is Sasuke Uchiha, the apprentice of one of my… old foreign allies." His voice worked its way into a hiss, and he continued with a foreboding smile, "This is the reason I have summoned you tonight. Sasuke will be my own temporary apprentice as his master takes care of other matters. I expect each of you to contribute some knowledge to our… _new little student _in the near future. His own methods are different from ours, but I believe you will all find that he is… _quite_ the quick study."

Snape listened with the same rapt attention Death Eaters always mustered for their lord, but he couldn't help but notice the snake, Nagini, slither towards them from the old Riddle manor. He had always hated that snake. She was too large and too intelligent for any sane man's pet. She was like a functioning Death Eater in herself.

He forced himself not to jerk as she slithered by his feet towards the center of the circle. Instead of going to Voldemort, though, she circled around Uchiha's ankles, hissing for attention. Snape watched as the boy bent and allowed the snake to glide onto his shoulders and curl around his chest, the only ornament on his plain black robes. He whispered something to her, and the language wasn't English or Parseltongue. She hissed back. He said something else, and she replied again.

This finally gained the Dark Lord's attention. He stopped in his speech about recent developments in their goals in order to give the boy a look. "If this meeting bores you, you may return to the manor," he whispered dangerously. It was the closest Snape had ever heard the Dark Lord get to sarcasm.

Uchiha shrugged and started towards the manor, unconcerned with the barely veiled threat.

Voldemort made a quiet noise somewhere between a hiss and a growl. "Snape," he said, "deliver your report and then follow Sasuke. You will begin his education. I've always found your Dolorium poison especially potent. Why don't you teach him your method for that?"

Snape masked his surprise with a humble, "Yes, m'lord."

His Dolorium poison was one of the most complex potions he was capable of brewing, and he had only perfected his technique after almost ten years of effort. Voldemort would no doubt torture him when that _child_ proved incapable of producing it accurately. Did the Dark Lord seriously believe a student no older than a fourth year worthy of _that_ potion?

He gave his prepared report flawlessly and bowed out of the circle. Voldemort had bought it, he thought, allowing only a flicker of relief. Snape had insisted Dumbledore remained oblivious of their intentions to get the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries. As far as Voldemort knew, Dumbledore was only recruiting for the Order of the Phoenix at the moment, long term plans nonexistent.

He entered the old, recently refurbished manor with stilled breath. Death Eaters only entered their master's abode with explicit permission, and even then, the air seemed to press down warningly. He walked on the thin dark green carpet as though walking on eggshells as he scouted the rooms on the ground floor for the foreign boy. Normally, he would have simply followed the footprints left in the new carpet, but there were none. He hesitated. Was he sure the kid had come up here? He hadn't dared to look behind him towards Uchiha as he followed orders delivered his report.

Risking it, he started up the stairs and began opening doors.

He found the boy in the third bedroom leaning against the window and reading. He had glanced up before Snape even opened the door.

"You would do well to knock before you enter a person's bedroom, Death Eater," he said, returning his gaze to his book. His tone was cold and distant. Snape got the impression this kid was in a permanent state of nonchalance. At least that was better than a loud, attention seeking brat like Sirius Black. Perhaps teaching this boy wouldn't be a complete waste of time, even if he wouldn't be able to get the potion right.

"Pardon me," Snape drawled with a half bow. "My name is Severus Snape. The Dark Lord wishes me to teach you to brew the Dolorium poison."

"Oh?" said Uchiha, looking up again. He snapped his book shut. "And what does the Dolorium poison do, specifically?"

"Upon contact with this poison, the victim develops a cold sweat and shortness of breath. It proceeds to induce distant hallucinations similar to a particularly bad reaction to dementors. The hallucinations worsen with time until they fully consume the victim, and they usually drive the victim mad. In most cases, the victim takes his own life in fits of madness."

"Is there an antidote?"

"None."

"Then what is its use, besides a slow death?"

Snape considered his next words carefully. "The victim… can be made to believe there is an antidote. If you had questions for him, he would definitely answer them in return for the antidote. It has worked every time."

The kid smirked. "I see. Very well, then. Where are your supplies?"

Snape set up everything they would need in the basement under the careful observation of Sasuke Uchiha. They had been silent for the past ten minutes as he collected all the materials from the Dark Lord's personal supplies, and Snape, though he would rather drink a vat of giggling potion before he admitted it, was becoming unnerved. Snape knew the kid's eyes had been black, larger and even blacker than Snape's own, but now they were just as blood red as the Dark Lord's. Instead of the cat-slit pupils, however, Uchiha had regular pupils surrounded by three black comma shapes. They followed his every move.

To break the silence, he asked, "How much experience have you had in potion-making?"

"None."

Snape tried not to choke on his surprise and outrage. He was supposed to teach one of the hardest potions imaginable to a _first year_?

"Don't worry," the kid smirked. His red eyes gleamed. "I can keep up."

"…Of course."

Uchiha set up a cauldron next to Snape's, and Snape noticed he set it up precisely as Snape had, the order in which each task was done identical. Uchiha glanced at him. "Please, begin."

Snape had never seen anything like it. He spoke, explaining each step as he performed it, and Uchiha mirrored him exactly, even retaining the presence of mind to ask intelligent questions as his hands moved expertly.

By the time they got to the final step before letting it brew for a week, their potions were exact copies. Snape couldn't help the amazement on his face. He had removed his mask as he worked in order to have full visibility, so he knew Uchiha saw the expression.

"Is it a spell?" he asked at length.

Uchiha's expression didn't change from its usual indifference as he thought about it. Then he responded, "It's simply in my blood. Shall I stir the potion at all during this week or leave it be?"

"Leave it be. I'll return Monday evening, and we'll finish it."

Uchiha nodded once and started out of the basement.

Snape remained a moment longer, staring impassively at their potions. It was in his blood? Like Voldemort's Parseltongue or Tonks's Metamorphmagus? He supposed the red eyes indicated him accessing the bloodline. But what were its powers? Was it simply for copying? What were its limitations? Whatever it was, it was damned impressive. A fourteen year old was easily brewing the Dolorium poison.

He sighed. He would need to inform Dumbledore immediately. It seemed Voldemort had some powerful allies already. This kid could be trouble.

**

* * *

One Year Later:**

"Are you sure this wouldn't be simpler as an assassination mission?" Tsunade asked, eyeing the old man across from her dubiously. The Fifth let her head lean on her hand, the only sign of weariness she would allow herself in front of a client. "I mean, a year long mission, even as a C or B class protection mission, seems incredibly expensive for a school's budget. If you told me more about this person we're supposed to protect the boy from, I'm sure I could find the perfect ANBU for him. It could be finished in a matter of days."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," the old man, who had identified himself as Albus Dumbledore, said with a smile. "I believe in justice, and to hire someone who hasn't been affected by Lord Voldemort to kill him, I believe, would make the deaths of all those who have died in the war against him meaningless. I am afraid this is a very personal war for me."

Tsunade couldn't help it. She tried; she really did, but a personal war? Anyone who lost someone in a war felt it was personal. She snorted in front of the client.

And then she froze. "Lord… Voldemort? That name… who is he?"

Dumbledore bowed his head in acknowledgement of her recognition. "He is the Darkest wizard of our century. He was thought to have been vanquished fourteen years ago by this boy, Harry Potter, when Harry was just a baby. He rose again a little over a year ago, however, and has been growing in power exponentially since. He is responsible for hundreds, if not thousands of deaths, particularly Muggles, or non-magical people, and Muggle-born witches and wizards."

"…Does he have a certain fondness for snakes?"

"Indeed," Dumbledore beamed at her contribution.

Tsunade fell silent and bent down to open a drawer in her desk. She found the file inside and pulled it out, opening it on her desk. She stared more than read.

"You say the charge will be sixteen this coming school year?"

"I do," Dumbledore smiled.

"That's Naruto's generation, alright," she muttered to herself. She stared at the file. Dumbledore waited, humming pleasantly to himself. She sighed. "You're in luck, then, if that's really what you want. We have a sixteen year old that is… _familiar_ with this Voldemort guy. I'll have to send his team with him since he's still on probation, but you did request a three-man cell, didn't you?"

"Probation?" Dumbledore inquired, frowning curiously. "If I may be so bold as to ask, what is he on probation for?"

"…Betraying the village…."

Dumbledore chuckled at her chagrined expression. "But if you took him back, it means you have hope for him, no?"

"Well, I told him I'd kill him personally if he tried anything funny, so I'm fairly certain he'll be loyal from now on," she smirked. "And, of course, his teammates keep him in line, whether they realize it or not."

"Oh?"

Tsunade's smirk turned into a full-out evil grin. "You told me earlier about visiting Sarutobi about ten or eleven years ago, and a blond hooligan replacing his pipe with a bubble pipe?"

Dumbledore smiled and nodded. Sarutobi had given him the bubble pipe when he'd shown an interest in it. He still had that pipe and frequently brought it out for holiday celebrations.

"That blond hooligan is Naruto. Naruto will be sixteen in October." She grinned. "Naruto is his teammate."

"Naruto…. Wasn't that the name of Minato's son?" Dumbledore asked, frowning slightly. Of course it was, he knew. He had met the Fourth and his very pregnant wife while visiting Sarutobi during his retirement. They had already decided on the name, if it were a boy. And after Sarutobi had retaken the mantle of Hokage, he and Dumbledore had spoken of Naruto extensively.

Tsunade looked surprised at his recognition. "Hai," she agreed. "But Naruto doesn't know who his father was, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell him. Jiraiya doesn't believe the time is right. It'd just give Naruto a big head. And trust me, _no one_ wants that." She laughed.

Dumbledore chuckled. If Naruto were anything like he had been at age five, he could imagine what that would be like.

Tsunade sighed after a moment and said, "Theirs would be the best team for the job. However, if they are to stay for ten months, I'm afraid there are some things I need to warn you about before you accept them."

"And those would be…?" Dumbledore asked pleasantly. He unwrapped another lemon drop and popped it into his mouth expertly. Of course he already knew what she was going to say. This was his plan, after all.

"Well, to begin with, I would give you a seal to use on Naruto. He is the vessel for the Nine-tailed Fox Demon, and occasionally, it gets out of his control. I would feel more comfortable if you had the seal during his stay, just in case. Secondly, Sasuke, the one with information on Voldemort, has a Curse Mark. He has remarkable control over it, but the same seal could be used on him in an emergency. Over ten months, I'd say they'll both lose control at least once, but it's always been reversible, and, given their teamwork, I seriously doubt they'll let it interfere with their mission. But, besides that… Sasuke was Voldemort's apprentice. Again, I seriously doubt he'll return to Voldemort, but if there is even the slightest possibility, it's my duty as his employer to warn you."

"But you have the utmost confidence in them?"

"Absolutely. Once you meet Naruto, you'll understand. So, knowing that, do you accept them as your team?"

Dumbledore pretended to consider. Then he beamed. "I do. When is the earliest they can leave?"

"I can have them briefed and packed in two hours, if you want to wait."

Dumbledore smiled, but it quickly twisted comically as his tongue found a particularly sour patch on the lemon drop. He chuckled at Tsunade's reaction and, ignoring it, said, "Perfect!"

Tsunade hit a button on her desk and said, "Shizune! Bring me Team Seven!"

Ten minutes later, Dumbledore decided Naruto was the spitting image of Minato, just as much as Sasuke resembled Itachi. He thought Sakura's strange hair color could easily be explained away with 'potions accident.'

"New mission!" barked Tsunade as the team dragged themselves into bows. Pssh. Lazy teenagers. "Long term. You'll be going undercover for ten months to protect a student at this headmaster's school."

"TEN MONTHS? BUT WE'RE TRAINING FOR THE CHUUNIN EXAMS!" Naruto exclaimed. Tsunade was thankful had had matured enough during his training with Jiraiya that at least he didn't wave his arms around and/or jump up on her desk.

She growled. "Listen here, you little worm! I know you and Sasuke think the exam's going to be a joke with your experience level, so you definitely weren't training just now! Don't bother me with that lie! _AND_-" she raised her voice threateningly, hoping at least for a little cringe; but no, Naruto just continued glaring back defiantly, "-if you succeed in this mission, I'll automatically promote you and Sasuke to chuunin. Jounin if you prove you're worth it."

Well, that shut the brat up. He gaped. She smirked.

"_NANI_?"

She frowned.

"OBAA-CHAN, I LOVE YOU!"

She scowled.

Naruto made to glomp her, and she dodged, smacking him in the back of the head as he careened past her. She heard Sakura sigh and knew her apprentice would give Naruto an earful as soon as they left.

"_The mission_," she continued, ignoring Naruto's moan as he rubbed his head, "is to pose as sixth year students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to protect the student Harry Potter against a Dark wizard named Voldemort." She noticed Sasuke's eyes widen fractionally as the sentence went on. Good. He remembered. "Sasuke. You are the only one in Konoha with experience in the Wizarding world. What are your thoughts on the mission?"

Sasuke took a moment to consider. He glanced at Dumbledore and said, "Albus Dumbledore, I presume?"

"At your service," Dumbledore chirped.

Sasuke visibly kept himself from rolling his eyes. "I think it's the other way around, actually," he muttered. "As for the mission, I think assassinating Voldemort would be simpler. Naruto and I could take him out with a little preparation. He's about the caliber of Orochimaru."

"Assassination is not an option," Tsunade snapped. "I mean in regards to the undercover mission. You have three weeks to prepare. What do you suggest?"

Sasuke glanced at Sakura and Naruto. "They'll need to learn English. I suggest the Oratius charm for that," he looked to Dumbledore, who nodded his agreement. "They'll also need to learn how to use a wand. And we'll need to get our cover story very clear if we're going to have to stick to it for ten months. I hear that Potter and his friends are very curious and investigative. We'll probably need a second, hidden cover story to tell if they suspect us of dishonesty and corner us. Which they probably will since the dobe can't lie to save his life."

Dumbledore and Tsunade nodded, considering his evaluation, while Naruto scowled at his teammate.

"I will, of course, pay for all their materials and expenses in addition to the mission cost," Dumbledore said.

Tsunade nodded. "Very well. Sakura, as you are the only chuunin, you will be the team leader. Do you accept this mission on behalf of your team?"

Sakura glanced at Sasuke, whose expression was as unreadable as always, and Naruto, who looked excited, before nodding once. "I accept, Hokage-sama."

"Alright. Pack and meet back here in an hour. Dismissed."

When they left, Dumbledore presented half of the payment for the mission, and Tsunade expressed surprise that he had already converted galleons to their currency.

"Actually, I helped Sarutobi with a mission when he was just a chuunin," said Dumbledore. "He felt it was only fair to split the payment with me. I haven't had much use for it until now."

It wasn't a lie, per se. He had helped Sarutobi when the ninja was just a chuunin. It was how they'd met, both in their early teens. But _this_ money Sarutobi, Itachi, Jiraiya, and Kakashi had pooled together shortly after the Kyuubi attack, specifically for this purpose, this 'mission.' Even though Sarutobi had passed away and he had fallen out of contact with Itachi, Jiraiya, and Kakashi, the warning signs had appeared exactly as they had foretold. Their plan would be executed.

He wondered if he should tell Tsunade their true intentions, but knowing her temper, he decided it was just as well she be left in the dark until it was beyond her control. He wouldn't risk this 'mission' failing because of her unpredictable mood swings.

And besides. It was fun counting how many cover stories he was putting into play.

* * *

**A/N: Please review. =) **


	2. Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Naruto. Apply this to every chapter.**

**Chapter One: Hogwarts**

"_Where is he?" Naruto demanded, slamming his fists down on Tsunade's desk. Towers of paperwork cascaded to the floor from the impact, but Naruto, Tsunade, and Jiraiya ignored it. "Where's Sasuke?"_

_She had sent the hawk to Naruto and Jiraiya immediately upon Sasuke's return, but she hadn't expected them to return to Konoha so fast. She should have, though. This was Naruto she was talking about. He always seemed to defy the laws of physics where his teammate was concerned._

_She didn't stop to muse over how much he had grown in the two and a half years he had been away training, or how mature he looked in the black and dark orange. Instead, she snapped, "Calm down, brat. He's in the holding cells in the basement. I thought I should leave his sentencing to you. After all, it was your team he betrayed the most."_

_Naruto gave a sharp nod and marched out of her office. Tsunade and Jiraiya shared a look before hurrying after. They'd at least need to be witnesses if Naruto decided to carry out an impromptu death sentence._

_Naruto greeted Sasuke much the same way as Tsunade. He ripped open the barred door with a strength that gave Tsunade a twinge of pride and stomped to the lone figure in the cell._

_He ripped Sasuke to his feet and punched him in the face. "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU BACK, YOU BASTARD?" he bellowed without preamble._

_Sasuke didn't visibly react. He had grown during his time away, too, Naruto saw with a short pang of regret. He was still a pretty boy, though the bags under his eyes were dark enough to make Gaara jealous, and he was still taller than Naruto, if only by a centimeter or two. His eyes looked more openly exhausted than Naruto had ever seen._

_When he didn't immediately answer, Naruto shook him. "Tell me, damn it! _Why are you back_?"_

"_I'm tired of snakes," Sasuke whispered, staring past Naruto to something no one else could see. Sasuke could still feel Orochimaru's hands, cold, gliding like snakes across his bared skin. He could still hear Orochimaru's voice, hissing in his ear, 'Beautiful. Powerful. Perfect. _Mine_.' Even his blood was cold, like snakes, when Sasuke gutted him. He shook his head, trying to clear it, and mumbled, "I'm so tired of snakes."_

_Naruto blinked, his anger forgotten. "Huh?"_

_Sasuke shook his head again. Why was there always so much blood stuck in his mind? Ever since Itachi, there was blood, and blood, and blood. "Itachi. Orochimaru. Voldemort. They're all snakes. They all want me to replace them. But I refuse. I'll avenge my family as an Uchiha, not a snake, not like Itachi wants. I'll bring justice on my terms. Not his. I refuse to be a snake anymore."_

"…_Huh?"_

_Sasuke released a breath that might have been a short laugh. He smirked and muttered, "Usuratonkachi."_

_Naruto frowned, loosening his grip on Sasuke's shirt. He didn't know whether to demand a simpler explanation, punch the jerk again for calling him an idiot, or let it go and be glad Sasuke was back more or less unchanged._

"_So… you're sorry and you're not going to abandon Sakura and me again?" he asked dubiously._

_Sasuke snorted at the extreme simplification. "Right, dobe."_

_Naruto grinned. "Good, teme."_

_He punched Sasuke hard in the shoulder but caught him before he hit the ground. Naruto righted him then slung his arm companionably around Sasuke's shoulders. They faced Tsunade and Jiraiya, Sasuke rubbing his bruising shoulder and Naruto grinning widely._

"_Alright," Naruto announced. "We can keep him!"_

* * *

On September first, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura met Horace Slughorn, who was to show them to Platform 9 3/4. They had spent the first two weeks of the mission at Hogwarts, familiarizing themselves with the castle and grounds while Dumbledore and McGonagall taught them how to use wands or, in Sasuke's case, which spells were illegal. Just before the rest of the staff had arrived, Dumbledore sent them to stay at the Leaky Cauldron to familiarize them with the culture. How else, he reasoned, could they notice what was suspicious if they didn't first know what was common? They picked up the rest of their school supplies while they were there; they had gotten their wands from Ollivander's the first day of the mission.

"Oho!" said a fat man in a velvet waistcoat as the ninjas stepped out from an alcove into which they had portkeyed. "Look for the girl with pink hair, Dumbledore said! Pink indeed, little missy!"

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke shared looks. Then Sakura led the way forward, pretending to have trouble lugging her trunk forward, like the other girls, and a few guys, they could see in the distance.

"Professor Slughorn?" she asked sweetly.

"Yes, ma'am," he chirped, extending his hand to shake hers, and then Naruto's and Sasuke's. "You would be Sakura Haruno. Now which of you gentlemen-?"

"Naruto Uzumaki!" proclaimed Naruto, whose hair looked brighter than the sun against his black school robes. He grinned toothily. "And that grumpy one over there is Sasuke Uchiha."

"Very good!" said Slughorn, pleased with Naruto's enthusiasm. "Alright, then, follow me, young minds! There's a simple illusion over the barrier between platforms nine and ten. We can walk right through it."

He stopped in front of the brick wall with the little circular signs 9 and 10.

"Through the brick wall?" repeated Naruto, giving Slughorn a look as though fearing for his sanity.

"It's a simple genjutsu, dobe," muttered Sasuke, not even using his Sharingan. "You can see the red train behind it if you concentrate."

"Merlin's beard, can you really?" asked Slughorn, staring at Sasuke in amazement. "I've never met anyone besides Albus that could see right through it!"

"Well, come on," said Sakura, once she was able to detect the genjutsu, too.

Naruto gulped as he watched Sakura and Sasuke disappear through the wall. Slughorn chuckled.

'You heard the lady," said Slughorn, patting Naruto on the back. "Let's go!" He pushed Naruto through the barrier despite his, 'Aaii!'

Soon, Naruto found himself surrounded by kids his age and younger, all wearing the same black school robes, along with ties and crests with their house symbols. Sakura and Sasuke were waiting, unamused with his dawdling. Slughorn led the way onto the train and into a compartment, magicking Sakura's trunk into the air in front of them in a show of chivalry. Sakura thanked him with a girlish giggle that had Naruto and Sasuke shuddering.

"Ah, Sasuke," said Naruto, elbowing his teammate with a grin. "Think you'll have fangirls here, too?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Obviously. Sakura's coming with us."

Sakura turned beet red and snatched a book out of her trunk, which she promptly hid behind. Naruto cackled while Slughorn looked bemused.

"Fangirls, eh?" he asked. "Popular back at your old school?"

As according to their cover story, all three's faces darkened.

"He was," Sakura agreed quietly, lowering her book. They knew Dumbledore would probably inform the professors of the ninjas' identities soon, anyway, but they needed practice with their story. Naruto and Sasuke sat down quietly as she perked up and continued, "Sasuke was first in our class; he's something of a prodigy where we're from. I won't be surprised if he does very well here, too."

"You don't say," said Slughorn, looking excited. He turned to Sasuke. "So, m'boy, what would you say your favorite subject is? Have you already decided what classes you'll be taking here?"

Sasuke scowled at the sudden attention and set Sakura a glare. "Defense Against the Dark Arts," he said shortly. "And our Ministry has only just sent our test scores to Hogwarts, so we don't know what subjects we're cleared to take N.E.W.T. level."

And it was true that they didn't know their classes yet. They'd have to find out Harry's so they could plan with his- subtly of course. It would be suspicious if all three of them had the exact same schedule as 'the Chosen One.'

"I'll be the Potions professor, myself," Slughorn said, not in the least upset with Sasuke's answer. "Just came out of retirement because Dumbledore needed a favor. Nice to have influential people like Albus Dumbledore counting on you for favors, you know?"

"I love potions!" exclaimed Sakura, prying Slughorn's attention away from Sasuke. "My focus at our old school was medical magic, so I've had tons of training in potions for their uses as medicines!"

"You should see Sakura-chan whip up antidotes to poisons," added Naruto, grinning widely as he complimented his crush. "She's incredible! As good as our headmistress herself!"

"Is she now?" said Slughorn, turning to Sakura and looking like Christmas had come early. The two dove into a conversation about medical potions, with Slughorn recounting many stories about his exploits with various famous potions-masters and Healers.

Naruto slumped back in his seat. He was across from Slughorn with Sakura and Sasuke on each side. "Ano, Sasuke," muttered Naruto. "Do you understand a word they're saying?"

Sasuke's neutral expression looked suspiciously blank, in Naruto's opinion. "I stopped listening as soon as Sakura started talking," Sasuke drawled, also leaning back farther in his seat. He had much more grace, of course, than 'slumping.'

"You're a bastard," said Naruto without much conviction.

"And you're an idiot," Sasuke responded likewise.

When it neared lunchtime, Slughorn snagged a passing third-year Hufflepuff and asked her to deliver some lunch invitations, and within minutes, their compartment was filled to the brim.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura squirmed as the six seats of the compartment strained with the presence of ten butts.

"Hey!" said Naruto as he found a black-haired boy with green eyes, glasses, and a scar. He attempted to elbow both Sakura and Sasuke, even though students were squashed between them. "That's-!"

"Dobe!" Sasuke cut him off and scowled openly as a random Gryffindor male toppled into his lap. "That's it." He pulled out his wand and swished it sharply.

Immediately, the compartment expanded, and the six seats became a comfortable ten. Still scowling, he jabbed his wand back into the sleeve of his robes and turned a brooding glare out the compartment window, away from the awed faces.

"Excellent!" beamed Slughorn. "Nonverbal spells of this complexity as an entering sixth year! And judging by what Miss Haruno here has told me of her knowledge of potions, you three must have come from a very rigorous school!"

"Um, Professor Slughorn?" said their charge, Harry Potter, eyeing the 'Japanese' students dubiously. "Who…?"

"An excellent question, Harry, m'boy!" said Slughorn, clapping. "New foreign exchange students, straight from Japan's _Konoha Hidden Academy of Magic_. Allow me to introduce everybody! Miss Sakura Haruno, an excellent potions girl, Mr. Blaise Zabini- he's your year, I believe, perhaps you know-?, and there's Naruto Uzumaki; I believe you already know Mr. Longbottom? Then there's Sasuke Uchiha with the nonverbal spell, a bit of a prodigy, I hear. And over here's Marcus Belby- had the pleasure of teaching his uncle, an outstanding wizard, then there's Mr. Cormac McLaggen, very Ministry family, and I hear you already know Miss Weasley, here?"

The redhead girl waved unenthusiastically at Harry from Slughorn's other side.

For the next hour or so, Slughorn interrogated the Hogwarts students jovially, finding out their connections and skills. Naruto scowled to himself. Slughorn was _that _kind of teacher- the one with favorites, and if a student wasn't a favorite, that student didn't matter. He crossed his arms defiantly, noticing Sasuke glance over at him as he did so. Sasuke probably knew what was going on, too. But what should Sasuke care? He was always a favorite. Naruto wasn't. If anything, teachers intentionally sabotaged him, the farthest from favorite anyone could get. He had thought he was done with stupid teachers and their stupid favoritism once he left the Academy. It was supposed to be judgment based on real-life skills alone now.

Stupid mission.

He listened along with the rest of the compartment as Slughorn grilled Harry, Ginny, and Neville about the incident at the Ministry and Harry's being the 'Chosen One.' Dumbledore had already explained the situation to the ninjas, so they watched with appreciation as the Gryffindors clammed up and evaded the prying man's questions. It seemed, they were relieved to find, Potter understood something about discrepancy. That would help their mission. If they had to reveal themselves in a matter of life or death, at least Harry wouldn't go blabbing their secret to everyone.

"So, Mr. Uzumaki," Naruto suddenly heard the professor call his name. He snapped his attention back to the present and tried not to fidget under the teacher's judging gaze. Great. Here comes the loss of favoritism. "What's your favorite subject? We know Sakura loves potions and Sasuke prefers Defense. Do you have any specialties from that outstanding school of yours?"

His tone was hopeful, encouraging, but Naruto floundered.

He had trouble with stupid wand magic. He always released too much chakra and caused almost all of his spells to go up in smoke- literally. He could say something random like Charms, but they would find the lie as soon as he reported to his first class. He quickly scanned through all the possibilities, trying to find something he could say and sound just as impressive as Sasuke and Sakura. He pulled up a blank.

"Care of Magical Creatures," said Sasuke, still staring out of the compartment window. Naruto had thought he wasn't paying attention, but he guessed paying attention while looking bored was another thing Kakashi had taught his favorite student. Sasuke continued neutrally, "I wouldn't be surprised if Naruto could teach a mother dragon to play fetch with her own egg. Very handy to have around if this Forbidden Forest is as dangerous as we've heard."

"Is that so?" said Slughorn, looking between Sasuke and Naruto excitedly. His gaze settled on Naruto. "What kind of animals do you have around your academy? I must confess, the Forbidden Forest even makes me a little nervous around dusk."

Naruto grinned, seeing Sasuke's logic. He remembered Gamabunta and the entire day he had stayed on the boss's back. He remembered defeating Gaara's sand monster, not to mention his own constant battle with the Kyuubi, and then destroying Orochimaru's snakes in the chuunin exams. He thought of his work with the other toads and Kakashi's nin-hounds. He could definitely fake a specialty with magical creatures, if it was faking at all.

So he launched into descriptions of the more unusual creatures he had seen in Konoha and on missions, tactfully leaving out their more ninja-world attributes and the situations in which he had come across them. He was saved from any big lying, however, by Slughorn's own long-winded contributions. Eventually, all Naruto had to do was grin and nod.

Slughorn excused the students as the sky outside darkened, saying something about getting close and putting robes on. The ninjas had already donned their school robes.

When they stopped at the train station in Hogsmeade, the ninjas followed an excitable Slughorn into a carriage. They gave no reaction towards the strange horse-like creature pulling it; they had ridden the creatures with Dumbledore on their way to Hogwarts the first time, and Dumbledore had explained their unfortunate reputation. It would be better not to draw attention to the fact that all three had seen death for the time being.

"Wait," Sakura whispered to Naruto and Sasuke as the last of the carriages pulled out behind theirs. She concentrated, overriding the translation spell, and hissed in Japanese, "_Harry-kun didn't get off the train!_"

"Naruto," muttered Sasuke, barely moving his lips as Slughorn regaled them with stories about some band or something called the Harpies Sisters. He, too, switched to Japanese, though he didn't have a translation spell. "_Can you create a shadow clone straight in front of that Auror stationed at Hogsmeade? Tonks?_"

"Yeah," said Naruto. He and Sasuke had practiced creating shadow clones over distances in the months since Sasuke's return. Their sparring sessions had gotten much more intense, to the gratification of both. Sasuke was still obsessed with training to defeat Itachi, and Naruto was still determined not to let Sasuke outdo him. They made for good sparring partners that way.

Naruto made the handseals inside his voluminous sleeves and immediately felt his chakra split in half, though the clone was nowhere in sight. They waited silently, pretending to listen to Slughorn. Two minutes later, Naruto absorbed new memories of telling Tonks Harry was still on the train and watching from a distance as she found him and they jumped off the train. Harry's nose was bloody and broken, but Tonks fixed the damage with a wave of her wand, and then the two followed the carriages on foot.

He nodded to Sakura and Sasuke, letting them know their charge was in capable hands, and they returned to listening to Slughorn.

The carriages pulled up to the school, and the ninjas followed Slughorn into the quickly filling Great Hall. Naruto and Sakura pretended to be amazed with the castle and Great Hall's ceiling, to the delight of the professor. Sasuke simply scowled as every girl gasped, giggled, and whispered upon sighting him.

Naruto snorted at Sasuke's dilemma and elbowed him good-naturedly. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

The three passed Dumbledore, whose eyes twinkled at them, and waited behind the line of first years to be Sorted. He had explained that they would need to be Sorted in front of the school to authenticate their cover story. That way, if one of them got in Gryffindor with their charge, Harry wouldn't be able to question their placement (he had explained Harry's displeasure with the Auror guards he was forced to endure outside of school and said Harry would probably be suspicious of more undercover guards). The Sorting Hat never misplaced a student.

"Where is he?" hissed Sakura, scouring the crowd. "Didn't you say he was okay?"

"He is," said Naruto. He lowered his voice as Dumbledore raised a hand to silence the students. "He's walking, so it'll take longer."

They listened, authentically amazed as the Sorting Hat burst into song. Dumbledore had failed to mention that part. Then McGonagall called the first name, and the Sorting began.

After Zedan, Helen, Dumbledore raised his hand again and announced, "And, as many of you have already noticed, we have three new students from a foreign academy that will join us this year. I ask that you make them feel welcome in our land and school. Now," he gestured to the ninjas, eyes twinkling madly as the ninjas shrank under the sudden limelight, "please be Sorted."

"Naruto, Uzumaki," McGonagall read off her list, and Sakura's eye twitched.

"You idiot, you gave them our names Japanese style!" she hissed at Naruto, who had been charged with adding their names to the list.

He laughed nervously, his hand going automatically to the back of his neck. "Um, whoops?"

He went forward, however, and sat on the short three-legged stool. McGonagall sat the Hat on his head, giving no indication that she knew him from over the summer.

"_Oh, what have we here?" _a voice said in Naruto's head, causing him to jump in surprise.

_Who's there?_ He thought back, wondering if he had somehow been caught in a genjutsu these wizards seemed so fond of. His hands came up, ready to form the seal to release it.

"_Calm down,_" said the voice with a hint of amusement. _"I'm looking through your characteristics to find the right House for you. Let's see… very loyal to your friends, and incredibly hard-working. More Hufflepuff than I've ever seen. But you're brave, braver than I've ever seen, too. You never give up, even when you're faced with seemingly insurmountable odds and deadly dangers. You'd die to protect the ones you care for. I know just where to put you…_"

Aloud, the Hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Naruto grinned and pulled off the Hat. Perfect. He bounded towards the table that was clapping loudest and sat down next to the bushy-haired girl Dumbledore had mentioned was one of Harry's friends. She eagerly cleared room for him, probably wanting to grill him about his homeland and their school system. The tall redhead across from her rolled his eyes.

"Sakura, Haruno," said McGonagall, and the pink-haired girl stepped forward, shoulders squared.

"_Just as strange as the last one, I see_," said the voice, and Sakura smirked. She had guessed there was some kind of telepathic magic in the hat allowing it to find the characteristics it had mentioned in the song. _"Ah, clever one, aren't you? Yes, I see you'd do very well in Ravenclaw with a mind like yours. But what's this?_" Suddenly, Sakura saw in her mind's eye herself in the Forest of Death during the chuunin exams. She stood determinedly over the unconscious Naruto and Sasuke, ready to defend them against all three Sound ninjas, even as her gut screamed at her that she didn't have a chance, that she would die here. She hadn't budged. _"Not a very smart move, but brave indeed. And you are beginning to value bravery more and more with Naruto's influence, aren't you? Very well, I see you'd also do best in… _GRYFFINDOR!"

Sakura smiled and handed the hat back to an approving McGonagall. She walked calmly towards the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Naruto, who looked relieved at her Sorting.

"See, Sakura-chan?" said Naruto, grinning. "I told you you were brave, too!"

Sakura beamed. "Thank you, Naruto."

"Sasuke, Uchiha."

Sakura and Naruto shared concerned glances, each thinking the same thing. They knew Sasuke was brave enough to be in Gryffindor. After all, he faced the same dangers as them, if not more, without flinching. He had saved their lives countless times at risk of his own. But his ambition was always his driving force. Ambition was a Slytherin quality, according to the Hat.

"Wow," said a girl on the other side of Sakura. She and her friends were staring as Sasuke sat down gracefully on the little stool. "That is one beautiful hunk of man."

While Sakura laughed and said, "Yes, he is," Naruto growled and informed them,

"He's a bastard. Give up now."

Meanwhile, Sasuke told the hat, _Put me in Gryffindor_, without even waiting for the telepathic voice. There was a silence, and then the hat muttered in his mind,

"_Well, you're obviously just as sharp as the last girl, and confident enough not to wait to confirm I existed. But I don't know if Gryffindor is really the right fit for you. I see ambition. You exist for a single ambition, and you'd do anything to achieve it. You almost killed your best friend for it. You'd be in better company in Slytherin…."_

_No. I didn't kill my best friend, so I obviously value him more than that ambition. And you will not separate us. I will never leave him and Sakura again. …Well, him at least. Sakura is annoying._

"_You're planning on finding Itachi with or without Naruto as soon as you're strong enough. You can't lie to me. You really ought to go to… _SLY-"

_HAT! _Sasuke cut the hat off with a thought sharper than a kunai. _Tell me, Hat. Do you sleep?_

"_Um… no…."_

_Then you do not have… nightmares?_

"_No, I don't."_

_Well, Hat, _thought Sasuke, letting his rage boil just as far as he could without activating the Curse Mark, _if you do not place me in Gryffindor with my comrades, I will be your first, your worst, and your very last. Do you understand me, Hat?_

There were several seconds of silence. Then the hat muttered aloud, "…ffindor…"

The Great Hall was silent. McGonagall leaned forward, frowning. "Excuse me?"

"Gryffindor!" the hat snapped irritably. "He goes to Gryffindor!"

Sasuke allowed himself a smirk as he took the hat off and handed it to a baffled McGonagall. He strode towards the Gryffindor table among whispers and pointing (mostly girls) and sat down across from Naruto, beside a tall redhead they had been told was one of Potter's friends.

Naruto, Sakura, and the bushy-haired brunette eyed him suspiciously as food appeared on the table.

"Did the hat try and put you in Slytherin?" Naruto asked, eyes narrowed.

"It thought about it but obviously decided Gryffindor was better suited for me," said Sasuke, his expression returning to neutral as he ladled out some familiar soup.

"…Did you threaten it?"

"Dobe, why would I threaten it? If it put me in Slytherin, at least I would be away from annoyances like you."

"I don't think threats would work against the hat," said the bushy-haired girl, speaking at last. She picked out a few pieces of food, but looked far more interested in the foreign students. She practically glowed with enthusiasm. "My name's Hermione Granger. That's my friend Ron Weasley. So, where are you guys from? I know Hogwarts hasn't participated in foreign exchange programs since the first war almost thirty years ago. And with war breaking out again now, well… your school must be very confident in Hogwarts' protection!"

"I'm Sakura Haruno," said Sakura with a smile as she looked through the food dubiously. She and Naruto still hadn't gotten used to the European food. "We're from Japan. And, well, I think Professor Dumbledore will say a little more about our situation after the feast. It's not exactly foreign exchange."

She smiled wryly and picked out a few harmless looking dishes.

Hermione frowned, and Sakura recognized the expression as one she herself frequently wore. It was the expression of a smart girl working through anomalies.

"What do you mean it isn't an exchange program?" she asked at last.

"You don't see any Hogwarts students missing, do you?" said Sasuke, still appearing as though he couldn't care less. "Hence… no exchange."

Hermione's mien stiffened slightly, affronted at his condescending tone, but before she could respond, Harry appeared on her other side. "Oh, my God, Harry!"

"Where've you — blimey, what've you done to your face?" said Ron, goggling at him along with everyone else in the vicinity.

"Why, what's wrong with it?" said Harry, grabbing a spoon and squinting at his distorted reflection.

"You're covered in blood!" said Hermione. "Come here —"

She raised her wand, said "_Tergeo_!" and siphoned off the dried blood.

"Thanks," said Harry, feeling his now clean face. "How's my nose looking?"

"Normal," said Hermione anxiously. "Why shouldn't it? Harry, what happened? We've been terrified!"

"I'll tell you later," said Harry curtly. He was suddenly very conscious of the foreign students, Ginny, Neville, Dean, and Seamus listening in. "I've missed the Sorting, then?" he nodded at the students he had seen in Slughorn's carriage and remembered the pink-haired girl saying they hadn't been Sorted yet. If they were sitting at Gryffindor, then….

"Oh, yes," said Hermione, though she still looked concerned. "Harry, this is Sakura-"

"We've all met," chirped Naruto. "Slughorn's compartment."

Harry and Sakura nodded. Sasuke sipped at his soup.

"So what did he want?" asked Hermione. "Professor Slughorn, I mean. You never came back…."

"To know what really happened at the Ministry," said Harry.

"Him and everyone else here," sniffed Hermione. "People were interrogating us about it on the train, weren't they, Ron?"

"Yeah," said Ron. "All wanting to know if you really are 'the Chosen One' —"

He broke off as Dumbledore got to his feet at the staff table. The talk and laughter echoing around the Hall died away almost instantly.

"The very best of evenings to you!" he said, smiling broadly, his arms opened wide as though to embrace the whole room. "To our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you… Those wishing to play for their House Quidditch teams should give their names to their Heads of House as usual. We are also looking for new Quidditch commentators, who should do likewise.

"We are pleased to welcome a new member of staff this year, Professor Slughorn"— Slughorn stood up, his bald head gleaming in the candlelight, his big waistcoated belly casting the table into shadow — "is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master."

"Potions?"

"Potions?"

The word echoed all over the Hall as people wondered wheel they had heard right. The ninjas, who already knew, wondered what the big deal was.

"Potions?" said Ron and Hermione together, turning to stare Harry. "But you said —"

"Professor Snape, meanwhile," said Dumbledore, raising voice so that it carried over all the muttering, "will be taking the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"No!" said Harry, so loudly that many heads turned in his direction.

It was because of Harry's outburst that only Naruto, Sakura, and Hermione noticed Sasuke's head snap up with an expression of shock at the name. They watched as his eyes shot up to the staff table and locked with similar black eyes.

Just as quickly as he had lost composure, though, he had regained it, and returned to his soup as though nothing had happened.

Hermione, Sakura, and Naruto frowned. How did Sasuke know this foreign wizard?

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Now, as everybody in this Hall knows, Lord Voldemort and his followers are once more at large and gaining in strength." The silence seemed to tauten, and Dumbledore continued, "His strength is extending across the continent and even overseas. It was because of Voldemort's allies that our three new foreign students find themselves among us at Hogwarts. Their school was brought into this war due to those alliances and destroyed. They have requested me to tell you they do not wish to be questioned further about the event, as it was quite traumatic."

The silence strained as many students turned to look at the ninjas, who all looked down at their hands as though to attest to the trauma. Hermione let out a soft, sympathetic, "Oh."

"I cannot emphasize strongly enough how dangerous the present situation is, and how much care each of us at Hogwarts must take to ensure that we remain safe," Dumbledore concluded. "The castle's magical fortifications have been strengthened over the summer, we are protected in new and more powerful ways, but we must still guard scrupulously against carelessness on the part of any student or member of staff. I urge you, therefore, to abide by any security restrictions that you teachers might impose upon you, however irksome you might find them — in particular, the rule that you are not to be out of after hours. I implore you, should you notice anything strange or suspicious within or outside the castle, to report it to a member of staff immediately. I trust you to conduct yourselves, always, with the utmost regard for your own and others' safety."

Dumbledore's blue eyes swept over the students before he smiled once more.

"But now, your beds await, as warm and comfortable as you could possibly wish, and I know that your top priority is to be well-rested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say good night. Pip pip!"

There was a deafening scraping of benches as the student-body stood, and Hermione called over it to the foreign students, "I'll show you to the Gryffindor Tower! I'm a prefect!"

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke followed her, all three noticing how Harry and Ron lagged behind. Hermione explained things to them and the first years as they walked, most of which sounded like _Hogwarts, a History_, and when Sakura pointed that out, Hermione gushed.

"Oh, how wonderful! I haven't been able to find another Gryffindor that's read _Hogwarts, a History_! What did you find the most interesting? I personally loved the section about the construction of third floor-"

Sakura followed Hermione to the sixth years' girl's dorm, chatting animatedly with her the whole time, while Naruto and Sasuke followed a helpful Neville.

"Wow!" exclaimed Naruto as he plopped onto the bed corresponding to his trunk. The room had been magically enlarged to fit two more beds comfortably. "This is awesome! We didn't have dorms at our academy; we just went home in the evenings. This is so cool!"

"Really?" said Neville as he pulled on pajamas. "Most everyone lives really far away, here. I mean, this is somewhere in Scotland, but I live in England! It'd be a heck of a ride home every evening."

Seamus and Dean entered and fell into their beds. Dean sat up to take his shoes off, but Seamus started snoring as soon as his face hit his pillow. Naruto cackled.

"You're not writing on his face," sighed Sasuke, who took his time changing into his night clothes.

Naruto pouted.

Harry and Ron entered, both looking downcast about something. Naruto and Sasuke shared a look, wondering what had happened, but neither asked. They had agreed that looking too interested would be a bit of a give-away.

"So, you guys are from Japan, huh?" said Harry, attempting to look more upbeat. "Your English is very good. We had Bulgarian and French schools over here in our fourth year for a tournament, and their accents were horrible. One girl stayed here to work on her English and ended up getting engaged to his brother." He nodded at Ron.

Naruto laughed. "Sasuke's the only one that actually speaks English," he said with a grin. "Sakura and I are using translation spells. See?" He held up his hand, which appeared to have a smiley face tattooed on the back. "Dumbledore did it. He says to come get it redone when it starts to frown, 'cause that'll mean it's wearing off."

Harry, Ron, and Neville laughed.

"That's Dumbledore for you," grinned Harry. "So how come you learned English, Sasuke? Do you have family here or something?"

Naruto saw Sasuke's back stiffen even as the words left Harry's mouth, and he suppressed his own wince. They didn't know not to mention family in context with Sasuke yet.

"I'd better not," muttered Sasuke darkly, not turning around from where he folded his clothes.

At the other Gryffindors' bemused stares, Naruto chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Haha, let me translate for you. It's kind of bad that Sasuke's the only one that speaks English because he doesn't really, uh, speak." He laughed again and said, "What he means to say is that he visited Europe a while ago and learned it then. And since he's a ridiculous overachiever, he learned it fluently and hasn't forgotten anything. Right, bastard?"

Harry and Ron looked shocked at his casual use of 'bastard' to the person's face, not only because it was rude, but because Sasuke looked perfectly capable of killing in cold blood, pretty boy or not.

Surprisingly, he only muttered, "Dobe."

While Naruto growled at Sasuke's back, Ron asked, "What's 'dobe?'"

"Dead last," said Sasuke before Naruto had a chance. He smirked at Naruto's deepening scowl. "Because Naruto was dead last in our class at the academy."

"I was sabotaged, I tell you! Sabotaged!"

"Psht."

"You know I'm right! I couldn't have been worse than Shikamaru; he got a zero on every test because he was too lazy to pick up his pencil! I would have had to have made negative grades to be lower than him!"

Sasuke seemed to consider this as he lied down on his bed. Then he answered decisively, "I would have given you negative grades if I were a teacher. Not only were your skills nonexistent, which would have been an automatic zero, they were embarrassing, which definitely puts it into the negatives."

"Why you-!" Naruto made to leap at his teammate only to bounce off Sasuke's suddenly closed and hardened curtains. He growled, but after a few seconds he shrugged and grinned. "G'night, Sasuke-bastard!"

"…Usuratonkachi."

Naruto growled again and ignored Ron's query of what that one meant.

"Useless freaking idiot," Sasuke offered helpfully from behind his curtains.

"Huh," Ron muttered to Harry as Naruto got into his bed, still growling. "He is a bastard."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I already have eight chapters of this written out, so I'm planning on posting every Friday for those of you whose story alerts are screwed up like mine are. And I promise I'm still going to write the epilogue to FotR, for those readers, too. **

**Anyways, thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!**


	3. Classes and Cover Stories

**Chapter 2: Classes and Cover Stories**

The next morning, Sasuke and Naruto waited for Sakura in the common room. Since Harry and Ron were also waiting for Hermione, the six of them ended up going down to breakfast together, not suspiciously at all, in Naruto's opinion. Indeed, Hermione welcomed them enthusiastically. Sakura was like a breath of fresh air. Not only was she female company for a change, she had read almost every book Hermione had about magic, and any book she hadn't read, she was eager to hear about. They had stayed up into the early hours of the morning talking about books, books, and more books.

When Hermione mentioned this to the boys, Harry, Ron, and Naruto promptly died of heart attacks. Sasuke laughed and danced over their corpses. Just kidding.

"S-Sakura-chan!" gasped Naruto. "B-but I thought you were, like, _naturally_ brilliant! You never told me you read _books_!"

"Moron!" Sakura snapped. "Of course I read books! _Everyone_ reads books except you!"

"Not true!" said Naruto as they sat down to breakfast. "Pervy Sage made me read his book before he published it, and it was crap!"

Harry and Ron choked on their pumpkin juice. "_Pervy Sage_?"

"A retired teacher from our home," said Sakura, wincing. "He's really quite a legend… but he _is_ a huge pervert."

Harry and Ron snorted.

"So, I was wondering," began Hermione after a few minutes of silent eating. "I know you said you'd rather not talk about it, and of course you don't have to answer me if it's sensitive, but I was wondering… if your school was destroyed, why did only the three of you come to Hogwarts? Where did the rest of the students go to finish their education?"

Sakura froze, Sasuke took a short pause between bites, and Naruto took a moment longer to remember their cover-story answer for that. Then he froze.

"Perhaps… the headmaster was a little vague on that point," said Sakura slowly, quietly, setting down her fork. "When he said our school was destroyed, he, uh, didn't mean over the summer." Hermione's mouth opened in a small 'o,' her eyes portraying her shock and sympathy. Sakura finished almost inaudibly, "We were the only students that survived."

"I'm so sorry," whispered Hermione, clearly horrified for having brought it up.

"It's okay," said Naruto with a smile that was intentionally too broad. "You didn't know."

While Hermione bowed her head silently, respectfully, Harry asked quietly, "So, it was Voldemort, huh?"

"Not exactly…" said Sakura. "A group called Akatsuki. We think they allied with Voldemort, so bringing us here was a political move as well. Dumbledore was reminding our community that we have allies, too, even though you guys are at war." She smiled wryly, hinting that she wanted to end the conversation.

Naruto fortified her intention when he began eating again. Sasuke, being a bastard undercover as well, hadn't stopped and hardly seemed to be paying attention.

They had agreed to call the group Akatsuki since it would be easiest to remember and connect to the feeling of Bad Guys. And Tsunade had informed Naruto before they left that he would indeed be safe from Akatsuki at Hogwarts. Ever since Gaara's kidnapping, the Konoha elders had been uptight about Naruto's "safety," which just meant that they didn't want him in enemy hands where he might be used against Konoha. Tsunade had insisted Akatsuki would never think to search for him outside of the Hidden Continent, so he was that much safer behind Hogwarts' extensive wards.

Not that he was the one being protected, of course.

He looked at Harry thoughtfully. The kid had had a hard life for a civilian. He had faced death head on at least once every school year, and he was still alive. And if what Sasuke said about Voldemort being of Orochimaru's caliber was true… that was pretty damn impressive. Naruto thought about Orochimaru from the chuunin exams and seriously doubted he could face that five or six times and live to tell about it. Of course, Sasuke had killed Orochimaru… but Sasuke had been driven by a whole lot of hatred, the Curse Mark, and the freaking Sharingan. Naruto just had Kyuubi, which he didn't want to use ever again, really. Not since the Kyuubi had hurt his friends…. Not since the Kyuubi had nearly killed Jiraiya….

"Chin up, dobe," muttered Sasuke from across the table. He didn't look at Naruto or stop eating, but somehow, he must have known something was bothering Naruto and it wasn't just their cover-story.

Naruto grinned. "Ah, Sasuke-bastard. Watch out, someone might think you actually care."

Sasuke scoffed but didn't deny it, which made Naruto grin wider.

While Naruto teased Sasuke mercilessly, Harry and Ron told Hermione about their embarrassing conversation with Hagrid the previous evening.

"But he can't really think we'd continue Care of Magical Creatures!" she said, looking distressed. "I mean, when has any of us expressed…you know…any enthusiasm?"

"That's it, though, innit?" said Ron, swallowing an entire fried egg whole. "We were the ones who made the most effort in classes because we like Hagrid. But he thinks we liked the stupid subject. D'ya reckon anyone's going to go on to N.E.W.T.?"

"Hey!" said Naruto, listening just in time to catch his last comment. "I love Care of Magical Creatures! I'm continuing it N.E.W.T. level! Uh… hopefully…."

"Oh, that's right," said Harry, remembering their conversation from Slughorn's compartment. "Well, I hope you like really dangerous animals up close and personal. Hagrid's definition of 'safe' and 'cute' aren't really, er, standard."

Naruto grinned impishly. "Awesome!"

It was then that McGonagall appeared down the line, handing out schedules and clearing sixth years according to their O.W.L. scores.

_Here comes Sakura and Sasuke's quick-thinking time_, thought Naruto, tensing. They'd have to figure out their schedules, including Naruto's, so that Harry was never without a guard but didn't have more than a few classes with all three, show individuality in their own electives, and let McGonagall in on which classes they were 'cleared' to take without making it seem like they were in control, all in the time between Harry's schedule and time it took McGonagall to stop in front of them.

Hermione was immediately cleared to continue with Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Herbology, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Potions, and shot off to a first period Ancient Runes class without further ado. Neville was next, and then a girl named Parvati Patil.

"So, Potter, Potter…" said Professor McGonagall, consulting her notes as she turned to Harry. "Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Transfiguration…all fine. I must say, I was pleased with your Transfiguration mark, Potter, very pleased. Now, why haven't you applied to continue with Potions? I thought it was your ambition to become an Auror?"

"It was, but you told me I had to get an 'Outstanding' in my O.W.L., Professor."

"And so you did when Professor Snape was teaching the subject. Professor Slughorn, however, is perfectly happy to accept N.E.W.T. students with 'Exceeds Expectations' at O.W.L. Do you wish to proceed with Potions?"

"Yes," said Harry, "but I didn't buy the books or any ingredients or anything-"

"I'm sure Professor Slughorn will be able to lend you some," said Professor McGonagall. "Very well, Potter, here is your schedule. Oh, by the way- twenty hopefuls have already put down their names for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. I shall pass the list to you in due course and you can fix up trials at your leisure."

A few minutes later, Ron was cleared to do the same subjects as Harry, and the two of them waited helpfully while she turned to the ninjas, probably not wanting to abandon them in the strange school while all the other sixth years had already gone.

Sasuke made a motion with his hand, and Naruto saw his wand peeking out of his sleeve, pointed towards McGonagall. She came to him first, consulting her clipboard.

"Luckily," she began, probably stalling while Sasuke's spell took effect, "all of your scores arrived from your Ministry this morning. …Mr. Uchiha, I see you are cleared to take Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Ancient Runes, Astronomy, Transfiguration, and Potions. Here is your schedule; I suggest you hurry to Ancient Runes. Please let me know if the classes are not at the right level for you. I realize your standardized tests are not exactly the same as our standards." Sasuke nodded curtly, took the paper, and strode off after Hermione.

McGonagall turned to Sakura next. "Miss Haruno, I see you have been cleared to take Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Transfiguration, and Potions. I see that you've already started a pathway in Healing, too, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Sakura.

"Perhaps you might consider volunteering in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey. I'm sure she would enjoy taking an apprentice, if you think you have the time."

"Oh!" said Sakura, looking excited. "That sounds great. I'll go see her very soon, then."

McGonagall nodded and handed Sakura her schedule.

McGonagall finally turned to Naruto, who waited excitedly to see what he would take. "Mr. Uzumaki, you've been cleared to take Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfigurations, and Charms. Potions is a very useful class for any field; are you sure you don't want to continue it here?"

Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I can't cook anything besides ramen, Professor, honest. I would just be a safety hazard!" Which was probably what Sasuke thought, too, when he sent the woman their schedules via nonverbal magic, the bastard.

"Very well, then. You're the only sixth year continuing Care of magical Creatures, though. I hope you enjoy one on one time with Professor Hagrid and… _unsavory_ beasts."

"It's the best! Well, except that I haven't met Professor Hagrid, yet…."

She handed him his schedule with a look of vague amusement. "I wish you the best of luck."

Naruto took it, grinning.

"Alright, mates," said Ron enthusiastically as he, Harry, Sakura, and Naruto stood. "Free period!"

The four headed to the common room, where Katie Bell congratulated Harry on making Quidditch Captain.

"What's Quidditch?" asked Naruto bouncing into a squishy arm chair in front of the fire.

Harry and Ron promptly died of heart attacks. Sakura smacked Naruto for causing their ten-month mission to fail on the first day. Just kidding. About Sakura smacking Naruto. She actually killed him.

Just kidding.

"IT'S ONLY THE BEST GAME IN THE WORLD!" bellowed Harry, Ron, and Katie Bell in unison.

"REALLY?" Naruto bellowed back, excited. "I WANT TO PLAY!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, but Harry and Ron ignored her. They were off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games they'd been to, what broomsticks they had, and which were the best. They explained the finer points of the game and went off explaining certain moves certain players could use when certain situations arouse, all for about an hour, and then their free period was up.

"So, you think you want to play?" asked Harry.

"Hell yeah!" said Naruto. "I think the beaters sound like fun. I bet Sasuke would like it, too… although he isn't much of a team player…."

Sakura smacked him in the arm. "Sasuke's always been a good team player, baka! Have you forgotten the chuunin exams? Or the Wave… field trip?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I seem to recall him playing the hero and _me_ actually saving us. Both times."

"He defended us until you stopped acting like an idiot and actually helped! Both times!"

"Um… what are you guys talking about?" asked Harry slowly, looking between them as though trying to see the events in question. "What's 'chuunin?' Why did anyone need saving?"

Sakura and Naruto flushed and stopped bickering. "Ah-ha, nothing, Harry-kun," said Sakura shrilly, smiling nervously. "The chuunin exams were what we called our O.W.L.s. We participated in teams, and, ah, the three of us were a team. We just meant saving our grades."

It made sense. But it wasn't convincing. Sakura was glad Hermione wasn't there to grill them further, and Sasuke wasn't there to glare her down for her loud mouth. She wished Naruto wasn't there to make the lie worse by laughing loudly and repeating every word she said. Idiot.

They eagerly left the sunlit common room for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom four floors below. Hermione and Sasuke were already queuing outside, carrying an armful of heavy books and, in Hermione's case, looking put-upon. Sasuke, of course, looked bored.

"We got so much homework for Runes," she said anxiously when Harry, Ron, Naruto, and Sakura joined them. "A fifteen-inch essay, two translations, and we've got to read these by Wednesday!"

"Shame," yawned Ron.

"You wait," she said resentfully. "I bet Snape gives us loads."

The classroom door opened as she spoke, and Snape stepped into the corridor, his sallow face framed as ever by two curtains of greasy black hair. Silence fell over the queue immediately. His and Sasuke's eyes locked for the briefest moments again.

"Inside," he said.

The students looked around as they entered. Snape had imposed his personality upon the room already; it was gloomier than usual, as curtains had been drawn over the windows, and was lit by candlelight. New pictures adorned the walls, many of them showing people who appeared to be in pain, sporting grisly injuries or strangely contorted body parts. Nobody spoke as they settled down, looking around at the shadowy, gruesome pictures.

"I have not asked you to take out your books," said Snape, closing the door and moving to face the class from behind his desk; Hermione and Sakura hastily dropped their copies of Confronting the Faceless back into their bags. "I wish to speak to you, and I want your fullest attention."

His black eyes roved over their upturned faces, lingering for a fraction of a second longer on both Harry's and Sasuke's.

He proceeded to tell them he was surprised so many scraped an O.W.L. in the subject and warned that N.E.W.T. level work would be much more advanced. Naruto, thinking about his still-crappy wand work, suppressed a groan. He'd have to pull a few all-nighters very soon to catch up to the class, forget advancing with them.

He broke off from his thoughts as Snape said, "Mr. Uchiha. I hear you have an aptitude for nonverbal spells. Would you mind telling me what is the advantage of a nonverbal spell?"

Sasuke didn't appear surprised that his nonverbal spell talent had preceded him or that Snape called him on it. "Well, there can be dozens," he said in his quiet drawl. "Surprise might be the most useful. In a duel with an enemy, you will have a split second advantage in which your enemy has no idea what kind of magic you will perform. It can also be used more subtly. If you wanted to curse someone in a crowd, perhaps illegally, it would be nearly impossible to trace the curse's casting back to you. It can also be used to keep the spell from being copied by your opponent. I've found it's very hard to copy a spell you do not know the incantation for. Shall I continue?"

"That will do," said Snape, giving Sasuke a look that any regular teenager would have crumbled under.

Hermione looked back at Sasuke, who was sitting behind Sakura, impressed. That answer was much more detailed than the Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six. She wondered where he got his information.

"The rest of you, however, are not up to Mr. Uchiha's standard," Snape continued. "You will divide into pairs. One partner will attempt to jinx the other without speaking. The other will attempt to repel the jinx in equal silence. Carry on."

When Sasuke automatically turned to pair up with Naruto, Naruto jumped to his feet.

"No! _I_ will be jinxing _you_, and _you_ will be shielding! Don't even think about turning that around, arrogant bastard!"

Sasuke smirked. "Alright. You do that. I'll just sit here and read while I wait, then." And he did.

"Five points from Gryffindor for language," said Snape as he passed. "Mr. Uzumaki, I do not know what your previous instructors tolerated, but we do not appreciate it when students bellow swearwords at their peers… even if that peer is Sasuke Uchiha."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sakura, and Naruto all frowned at Sasuke.

"_Ano, Sasuke_," muttered Naruto, switching to Japanese with a little bit of effort. "_How do you know that slime ball?_"

"_He's a follower of this society's dark lord_," said Sasuke, careful not to say Voldemort's name, since it could be recognized by the class, even if the rest of the sentence was in Japanese. "_He taught me about potions while I stayed with _him_._"

"_Guess he didn't like you, eh?_" snickered Naruto.

"_You could at least get your wand out and __**pretend**__ to try and jinx me, dobe,_" muttered Sasuke, returning to Confronting the Faceless.

Within ten minutes, Hermione and Sakura, partners for the exercise, high-fived. Sakura had managed to nonverbally cast a jinx, and Hermione had shielded in equal silence. Snape, instead of giving them twenty points like any fair teacher, told them to quiet down and gossip on their own time. Sakura twitched, enraged, and Hermione sniffed angrily.

"Pathetic, Weasley," said Snape, coming to watch Harry and Ron. "Here — let me show you —"

He turned his wand on Harry so fast that Harry reacted instinctively and yelled, "_Protego_!"

His Shield Charm was so strong Snape was knocked off-balance and hit a desk. The whole class had looked around and now watched as Snape righted himself, scowling.

"Do you remember me telling you we are practicing nonverbal spells, Potter?"

"Yes," said Harry stiffly.

"Yes, sir."

"There's no need to call me 'sir,' Professor." The words had escaped him before he knew what he was saying. Several people gasped, including Hermione, but Naruto had laughed aloud before Sasuke clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Detention, Saturday night, my office," said Snape. "I do not take cheek from anyone, Potter…not even 'the Chosen One.' Mr. Uzumaki, since you think it's so funny, you can join him."

Sasuke deemed it safe to remove his hand just in time for Naruto to exclaim, "Damn it!"

Snape looked stunned for a moment, clearly not thinking anyone would be stupid enough to swear loudly twice after getting points docked. Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered weakly, "Usuratonkachi."

"Five more points from Gryffindor, Mr. Uzumaki. Class dismissed."

While Ron congratulated Harry on his feat, Hermione asked Sasuke, "So, you've met Professor Snape before? When?"

"I came to England a little over a year ago with one of my teachers," said Sasuke, not looking at her. "We crossed paths briefly. My sensei was friends with one of his associates."

"Really? Which associate? We might know him, too."

"I don't recall his name. As I said, it was brief."

Hermione frowned, clearly disbelieving, and Sakura quickly intervened.

"So, it looks like Harry and Professor Snape have some history," she said to Hermione, but Harry and Ron stopped to listen in. "What happened?"

"My dad went to school with him," said Harry, his giddiness from his chat with Ron dissipating. "They were rivals, hated each other. My dad was popular, Snape wasn't, that sort of thing. Then my dad saved his life, and Snape hasn't been able to forgive him since. He takes it out on me."

"Huh," said Sakura. "That sounds like Sasuke and Naruto, except they're friends now."

"Really?" asked Harry, looking between the aforementioned boys with interest. "What happened?"

Sasuke and Naruto both sent vicious glares at their pink-haired teammate, who shriveled under the combined killing-intent.

"Oh- aha- nothing!" squeaked Sakura. "They'll, uh, kill me if I say anything else!"

Harry and Ron snorted, obviously thinking she was kidding. Hermione continued to frown.

Sakura saw that and sighed. "Look, guys. From what I've heard so far, it seems like Hogwarts never has a boring year, right?" At their nods, she continued, "Well, it was like that at our school, too. When I say 'saved' and stuff like that, I don't necessarily mean 'straight from the jaws of certain death' or anything. I just mean from, you know, bad stuff that could happen to anyone anywhere."

Harry and Ron easily accepted this explanation- they had wondered about it earlier when Naruto said he had saved them in the chuunin exams- but Hermione seemed to take a little longer to process it.

They had a free period in which Naruto, Harry, and Ron told Sasuke about Quidditch, which he'd already heard of, of course. Voldemort had ranted rabidly about the Quidditch World Cup on several occasions, but he didn't tell Harry and Ron that.

In the end, Sasuke interrupted them with a blunt, "Naruto, you realize we've never even tried to ride brooms before, right? There's a very high probability that you'll suck at it, like you do everything else."

Naruto's face turned an angry red, and he snarled, "_Sasuke-teme_!"

"What's 'teme?'" asked Ron.

"Bastard," said Sakura without batting an eyelash.

Hermione blinked in surprise and asked, "Are you sure they're friends?"

Sakura smiled, but it was clear to everyone she was smiling more to herself than to Hermione. "Don't let their bickering fool you, Hermione. They'd die for each other." She laughed, this time more openly, and finished, "Of course, they'd bicker about who was going to be the hero and who was going to be the loser that needed saving, first."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked stunned at the extremity of her answer, but Sasuke and Naruto scowled at her again.

"Sakura," snapped Sasuke.

"Stop telling stories about us!" finished Naruto. "You're destroying our manly pride!"

Sasuke sweatdropped. Harry and Ron grimaced. Sakura smacked Naruto.

"Manly pride my ass," she growled. "Stop being an idiot!"

"Er," said Harry as Naruto backed away from Sakura, "we can go out after classes and see if you guys are any good at flying. There are a ton of school brooms you can borrow. It'd be great if you were good, though. Our team last year…." He grimaced again and finished, "Well, as captain, I'd like to see some new faces."

Ron looked strangely subdued after that comment and was quiet all through lunch.

After lunch, Naruto took off to Care of Magical Creatures, looking absolutely thrilled when Harry pointed out the half-giant teacher, and Hermione headed off to Arithmancy. She had looked disappointed when she found out Sasuke wasn't in that class, too, since they'd had Ancient Runes together, but was quickly offended when Sasuke scoffed and said he didn't put much more stock in Arithmancy than Divination.

"But Arithmancy is based on numbers and logic, not crystal balls and tea leaves!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "The number association of letters in my name and birthday cannot, according to _any_ logic, tell you about my 'love life' or personality. Any class based on the assumption it can is useless."

Hermione had glared, snatched up her books, and taken off.

"Sasuke-kun," sighed Sakura, shaking her head.

"Come on," said Harry. "We should start on that Defense essay."

They headed to the common room. They had only just finished their essays when the bell rang for the afternoon's double Potions and they beat the familiar path down to the dungeon classroom that had, for so long, been Snape's.

When they arrived in the corridor they saw that there were only a dozen people progressing to N.E.W.T. level. Crabbe and Goyle had evidently failed to achieve the required O.W.L. grade, but four Slytherins had made it through, including Malfoy. Four Ravenclaws were there, and one Hufflepuff, Ernie Macmillan.

A few minutes later, Slughorn appeared. He led them in, greeting Harry, Zabini, Sasuke, and Sakura with particular relish. Since the tables seated four, Sasuke and Sakura ended up by themselves while Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ernie took a table.

Slughorn began the lesson by having them identify several potions, all of which Hermione named, earning Gryffindor twenty points. Then he set them off to make the Draught of Living Death.

"Now, where is your other schoolmate, Mr. Uzumaki?" asked Slughorn as he passed Sasuke and Sakura's table. "It seems you two are more than capable for this class."

Indeed, their potions were farther along than anyone else's, including Hermione's.

"Naruto has a particular shortcoming when dealing with very delicate tasks such as potion-making," said Sasuke, picking up a silver knife as opposed to the brass on in the instructions. Stupid instructions. "He actually dropped this class before we even took our school's O.W.L.s."

"Oho!" said Slughorn, seeming to forget about Naruto entirely as Sasuke and Sakura continued with their perfection. "Very good, very good! I must say, I am becoming more and more impressed with your school!"

Hermione had to agree. She looked at her own potion and then across the aisle at both Sakura and Sasuke's. The foreigners' were better, if only by shades. Maybe no one else besides Hermione and Slughorn would be able to see that, but it didn't change the fact that she could and she did. They both seemed like prodigies compared to the Hogwarts students; even Naruto, their school's dead last, was on par with Harry and Ron as far as she could see. So if everyone at their school was that good… how powerful were the Akatsuki that they could destroy it, anyway?

_But they were the only survivors_, she thought in response to her own speculation. _Maybe that's why- they were the best._

_But Naruto's dead last!_

She shook her head. She would look into it more later. Sakura seemed fairly open about their pasts. Maybe she wouldn't mind talking about Akatsuki or their school's standards.

The class ended with a slight surprise. Sakura, Sasuke, Hermione, and Harry had some of the best potions. While Sakura's was perfect in every way, Sasuke and Harry were incredibly close, and Hermione wasn't far behind. Slughorn was ecstatic.

Hermione was shocked and rounded on Harry.

He held up his book, an old school copy, and she saw that it had been scribbled in copiously. "Different instructions," he said.

"So it wasn't exactly your own work, was it?" she said stiffly as they packed up and headed towards the door. Sasuke and Sakura walked with them quietly.

"Oh, come off it," said Ron. "He took a chance and it paid off, didn't it? Wish Slughorn could have handed me that book, but no…."

They were stopped in their brewing argument just outside of the classroom door, however, by a shout from Malfoy.

"Hey, Uchiha!"

Sakura stopped first, surprised, and when Sasuke saw the trio stopping as well, he sighed and turned around, too. He raised an eyebrow in answer, crossing his arms.

Malfoy waltzed up to them, the other three Slytherins following. "You know, I thought your name sounded familiar at the feast last night, but I couldn't quite place it. But now I remember."

He smirked like a cat toying with a canary, and Sakura stiffened beside Sasuke, wondering if she should knock him out or distract him before he revealed information that might compromise their mission. But she didn't know how Sasuke knew this kid, and she didn't know if interrupting would cause more harm than good. It could make them look just as suspicious as whatever it was he was about to reveal.

"You're that filthy little mudblood my father had to teach a lesson last summer! He said you didn't even know how to turn a match into a needle. That's our very first Transfiguration lesson!" He looked gleeful at his job of publically humiliating Sasuke… except that Sasuke didn't react at all.

The Uchiha simply cocked his head to the side, expression as blank as ever, and said, "I think you have me mistaken. I am clearly not filthy," he indicated his immaculate robes, "I am unfamiliar with the term 'mudblood'… and I doubt very much that I have ever met your father, let alone 'learned a lesson' from him."

He turned to leave, and Hermione whispered to him, "Mudblood is a vulgar word for anyone with non-magical parents, a Muggle-born like me. A lot of old families like Malfoy's judge us by our parentage."

Sasuke gave a vague nod of understanding. Of course he already knew the word; Voldemort and the Death Eaters had used it like a foundation for every conversation. But the word had no place in Konoha, and he felt more undercover by not knowing so much about Voldemort and his ways.

"It's you!" Malfoy snarled, stalking after them, causing Sasuke to sigh and come to a stop again. Harry and Ron moved forward, drawing their wands with the air of experience. Malfoy stopped and glowered back at Sasuke. "What, getting your little lions to protect you, you dirty mudblood? You really are a snake. My father said even the Dark Lord would have liked you if it weren't for your filthy, blundering family-- what?" he sneered when Sasuke's face suddenly darkened in rage, "Didn't want the little Gryffindors to know the Dark Lord had his eye on y-?"

He broke off with a startled choke as his body slammed into the stone wall behind him. He was held there by an invisible force against the wall, his feet hanging several inches above the floor. He grasped at his throat, clearly unable to breathe.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione swung around to find Sasuke's wand drawn, pointed at Malfoy, his expression a terrifying mixture of coldness and rage. Sakura hovered, twisting her hands.

"Sasuke-kun, don't," she whispered. "He obviously doesn't know what he's talking about-"

Sasuke, however, ignored her. He strode forward until he was between Harry and Malfoy and hissed at the blonde, "As I said, you have obviously mistaken me for someone else, but even so, I _will not_ tolerate you speaking ill of my family. If heritage is so important to you, I suggest you run home to your genealogy books and look up the legend of the Uchiha clan. See if what you find there doesn't make you piss your pants when you realize you insulted the heir."

He dropped the spell holding Malfoy in the air just as the blonde's lips began turning blue. Malfoy crumpled to the ground at Sasuke's feet, gasping and sputtering.

Sasuke glared down his nose at the pathetic form and finished quietly, "I only wish to kill one man, and he is not you. However, if you _ever_ speak to me again… I'll make an exception."

He turned on his heel and strode off, leaving four Gryffindors and a Slytherin gaping after him.

**

* * *

A/N: Hey! Thank you everyone who reviewed! Y'all are incredible; I loved them all. And Honeydew brought up a good point: Sakura-bashing. I don't mean to, but in my mind, Naruto will always love Sakura and Sasuke will always think she's annoying; but since she's grown up in Shippuuden, Sasuke tolerate her more and more as she proves herself, like he did with Naruto. Don't expect any pairings out of me, though. I avoid romance as much as I can. And I'll explore all of their relationships/bonds in depth through out the fic, but with six main characters and plot happenings, I won't get to them all in the first few chapters. Be patient with me. These are still intro chapters. The fun parts are still waiting. =)**

**Anyways, let me know what you think, and any more concerns about characterization or inaccuracies. I'm always willing to work to make my stories better. =) And please review, oh wondrous readers. =D**

**And PS, I do love Sakura in Shippuuden. She's so kick-ass. I'll incorporate that when the action picks up. ;)**


	4. Too Much Information

**Chapter 3: Too Much Information**

Their last class of the day was Herbology, a class Harry, Ron, and Hermione had with Sakura and Naruto only.

They went quickly to the common room to fetch Naruto, who had his free period during their Potions period, to show him down to the greenhouses.

"Ano, Sakura-chan," he said, standing up from an armchair in front of the fireplace upon their entrance. His expression was concerned. "What happened? Sasuke just stormed up to the dorm room in full brooding-mode."

Sakura winced and motioned at him to come on. She explained on the way,

"Some stupid boy in Potions mistook him for someone else and insulted his family."

Naruto tripped over his feet and face-planted in the corridor. "NANI? Kami-sama, did Sasuke get expelled? How'd he kill him? Wait, don't tell me! With his mood recently, I bet it was bloody. He cut as much of the kid up as he could without him bleeding to death, then decapitated him, and then threw the body out a window or down some stairs. Am I right? I'm right, aren't I?" He got back to his feet and they continued down the hall.

"Of course not," muttered Sakura as Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared in shock at the detailed guess. "Sasuke-kun didn't kill him. He just threatened him and left."

Naruto's eyes went wide. "Whoa… what'd the kid do, call his mom a blockhead or something lame?"

Sakura shifted uncomfortably. "He said his family was dirty. Blundering mudbloods, or something."

"What's mudblood?"

"It means dirty blood," said Ron. "It's a foul way to call someone whose parents aren't magical. Purebloods like Malfoy think Muggle-borns are worthless."

Naruto scratched his head in confusion. "But that doesn't make sense. Why would that kid say that to _Sasuke_? The Uchihas were one of the most powerful families in… well, all of Japan."

Sakura, secretly thankful Naruto had remembered they were supposedly from Japan, covered it up by smacking Naruto upside the head. "Idiot! I just said the kid mistook him for someone else!"

Harry and Hermione had caught something else, though. "Were?"

Sakura and Naruto looked at the pair, confused.

"You said they _were_ one of the most powerful families," said Harry slowly. "Does that mean…?"

Sakura and Naruto froze. They glanced at each other. Revealing the Uchiha clan massacre on the second day of the mission had never been part of the plan. Naruto looked at the floor and Sakura sighed.

"The entire Uchiha clan was wiped out almost nine years ago," murmured Sakura, deciding they would probably find out anyway, with these three ninjas' luck. "Sasuke was the sole survivor."

The Golden Trio was justifiably shocked. At length, Hermione muttered, "I guess that explains his severe reaction."

"Was it Akatsuki?" asked Harry.

Naruto and Sakura shared another quick look. "Um… not _exactly_," said Naruto.

"I think we'd better leave the rest to Sasuke," inserted Sakura before Naruto could open his mouth again. "I mean, it's his business. He probably doesn't want people here to know."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione nodded in understanding, despite their sudden rabid curiosity. They passed through the Entrance hall and out the doors. It seemed the sight of the outdoors reminded Naruto of something, because he jumped up into the air and announced,

"Hagrid's class is AMAZING!" While Harry, Ron, and Hermione were torn between being happy for Hagrid and stumped that anyone would like his class, Naruto continued, "We went over a review of all the animals in the Forbidden Forest, and he even showed me the Blast-Ended Skrewts! It was the best class I've ever had in my entire _life_!"

"YOU LIKED THE SKREWTS?" roared Ron. "ARE YOU _MAD_?"

Naruto and Sakura blinked in confusion. Naruto said, "I thought they were funny," while Sakura asked, "What are skrewts?"

"Funny?" repeated Ron, looking close to a stroke. "They shoot fire from their asses!" –At this, Naruto cackled madly- "They're six feet long and have suckers and stingers and _armor_, for Merlin's sake! They're vicious _devils_!"

Sakura grimaced. Naruto, however, rolled his eyes and brushed that comment aside with, "Ah, come on. All they want to do is play with you! All you gotta do is beat 'em in a few sparring matches and they're cute and cuddly as bunnies!"

"You've been sparring with skrewts?" asked Hermione shrilly. She made a wide motion at his perfectly clean robes and said, "But you're not injured at all!"

Naruto gave her yet another confused look. "They're actually pretty slow, and Sasuke's fire attacks make theirs look like little sparks. They were really easy to tame once I realized that."

Harry, recalling Sasuke's comment in Slughorn's compartment, interrupted Hermione's next interrogation with, "Sasuke mentioned this on the train. He said Naruto could teach a mother dragon to play catch with her own egg. Remember that dragon I had to get an egg from in fourth year?"

Hermione looked stunned at the analogy, but Naruto jumped up and down in excitement again.

"You know Hagrid said he had a pet dragon, once? A _real_ dragon!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione scowled. "Oh," said Harry, "we know."

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura met in the common room some time between night and gray morning.

"I suppose you've both figured out how our schedules are going to compliment our mission?" Sasuke asked to begin their meeting.

Sakura nodded. "I'll be with Harry at all times during the day, but I'll also apprentice Madam Pomfrey, so I'll have an excuse to leave at seemingly odd or random hours, possibly late at night or longer than an average class period. You have a free period during Herbology, so you can take watch from afar while we're exposed outdoors, and you also have Astronomy so you have an excuse to go out during late hours. Naruto, meanwhile, has a free period while we're in the dungeons for potions to keep a lookout from higher ground. And he has Care of Magical Creatures, so he has an excuse to go outside or into the forest."

Sasuke nodded. "Right. And for the classes all three of us have together, I suggest either Naruto or I send out a kage bunshin henged into an insect, textbook, or suit of armor to keep look out."

"Definitely," said Naruto, nodding sagely. He hadn't figured out their schedules beyond the obvious sharing classes with Harry, and he never would have thought of using clones turned insects to use as scouts.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, clearly thinking the same thing.

"So, let's get our stories straight so far," said Sakura. "They know we're the only survivors of an Akatsuki attack; Akatsuki might be allied with Voldemort; we call our O.W.L. exams the chuunin exams—"

"We what?" interrupted Sasuke, giving her a Look.

She cringed. "It slipped!"

Sasuke scoffed but said, "Continue."

"Okay. Um, they know that you met Snape and apparently don't get along, but I'm pretty sure they don't think Malfoy actually knows you… which begs the question…"

"He does," said Sasuke evenly. "Voldemort had each of his followers teach me something. Snape taught me to brew a poison. Lucius Malfoy taught me the Imperius Curse. The fathers of Draco's cronies, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, also taught me spells, but I doubt they'll remember my name or that event. Their families aren't very bright. But Malfoy could be a real threat to the mission if he turns Potter against me on the basis that I studied under Voldemort. We'll need to keep an eye on him."

Sakura and Naruto nodded, each trying not to show their obvious discomfort with the subject. They didn't like to talk about their time as a shattered team. But, try as they might, an awkward silence filled the room, and Sakura and Naruto consciously fought the memory of pain from Sasuke's abandonment. Sasuke's expression was unreadable.

"Right," said Sakura after a moment, business-like again. "They know I'm going into Healing, Naruto is good with vicious animals, you're good with nonverbal spells and, well, everything. They, ah, also know that you're the last Uchiha." She cringed, waiting for the explosion. It didn't come.

Sasuke's face was blank. "Continue."

"Um, besides that, they only suspect that our school was pretty violent. We mentioned 'saving' a few times, but I think I explained that one okay."

Sasuke nodded. "We've passed the first day of ten months, then."

Naruto and Sakura nodded. The three sat silently, lost in thought for a few minutes. At length, Naruto asked, "What do you guys think of them?"

"I like them," said Sakura. "Hermione might be a problem in the future if we don't keep our stories perfect, but she's very likeable. They all are."

"They're so… accepting," added Naruto, nodding to her sentiments. "People in Konoha are so much more cautious about making friends."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "That's because over half the people in Konoha have been trained to kill and deceive. That's frowned upon, here."

They were silent again. Naruto broke it again.

"Do you really think Voldemort will try and kill Harry while we're here?"

Sasuke, seeing the question directed at him, gave a half-shrug. "I think… Voldemort has a hundred plans on how to kill Harry within the year, and fifty of them are in motion. He may not try and break in personally… but he's definitely up to something."

"Do you think he'd hire shinobi?" whispered Sakura, turning to look into the fireplace, where the embers were dying. "I mean… what if Snape-san tells him Dumbledore hired us, and he decided to use shinobi to fight shinobi?"

Sasuke shrugged. "It's possible. We should be prepared for it."

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

The rest of the week passed without many more slip-ups. Pomfrey gladly accepted Sakura as an apprentice, and Sasuke and Naruto tried flying for the first time.

Sasuke got the hang of it immediately, impressing both Harry and Ron, but after five minutes of attempts (and crashing to the ground from various near-deadly heights), Naruto ended up flying circles around his teammate.

"YATTA!" exclaimed Naruto, pumping his fist in the air as he zigzagged after Harry, who was laughing as he raced away. "SASUKE-TEME, WHY DON'T WE HAVE THESE IN KONOHA? THIS IS AWESOME!"

Sasuke sighed and rolled neatly out of Harry's way. He shot straight up to avoid Naruto's flight and leveled out high above the stadium. He watched silently as Naruto and Harry played air-tag with the occasional referee from Ron. Naruto looked happy—genuinely happy-- for one of the first times since Sasuke's return, he noted with a slight pang in his chest. Since his return, Naruto had laughed and joked and taunted like old times, but it wasn't like old times. Now, he did it to put Sakura at ease or to lessen the tension when other more judgmental people showed up. Sometimes he did it just so they could at least _pretend_ they were all okay. But they weren't. Sasuke had broken them, and some pieces had gone missing in his absence that they wouldn't be able to find again. They could be put together again, sure, but they would never be rebuilt in the same way, same shape. Too much had happened. And it was his fault.

But Naruto was happy now, flying through the air like a bird newly busted out of a cage. He laughed and rolled and played like the child he had never honestly been and never would be. And Sasuke was happy for him. If anyone deserved that brief, stringless happiness, it was Naruto.

Soon, Harry traded off with Ron, and Sasuke watched calmly as Harry drifted up towards him. Harry turned and watched Ron chase Naruto from Sasuke's vantage point for a few silent moments. Then he said, "Naruto's really good."

Sasuke tilted his head in a way that could have been a nod. "Hn."

"You're good, too," Harry added offhandedly. "Better than most of the people that will probably try out."

"Are you getting to a point?"

"Well… we really need new beaters. Last year, we're pretty sure one of them managed to knock himself out with his own bat and the other screamed like a girl when someone flew at him with the Quaffle… and a new Chaser might not be too bad, either…."

Sasuke smirked, seeing Potter stumble over his real intention. "First year as captain?"

Harry seemed surprised, but grimaced and nodded. "I guess I should work on my pitch, huh?"

Sasuke released a short breath that might have been a scoff or snort. "Couldn't hurt."

"Well," continued Harry boldly, "I'd really like it if you and Naruto wanted to try out. I think I might just commit murder if we had to deal with a team like last year's, and it seems you guys actually have talent."

Sasuke almost rolled his eyes. "Thanks." Before he was forced to actually answer the request, however, Naruto zoomed up to them, coming to a halt so fast, he briefly came up off the broom.

"Sasuke-teme, try out with me!" he yelled, despite Sasuke only being a foot away from him. When Sasuke looked less than thrilled with the idea, he added in Japanese, "_It's mission-relevant! If something attacks Harry during a game, we could both be nearby! And it's an excuse to follow him to practices. Pleeeeease!_"

Naruto used his big blue eyes to their fullest extent, adding glitter and pouting to their already extensive arsenal.

Sasuke looked from Naruto's puppy-dog eyes to Potter's hopeful expression. He sighed, accepting the mission-relevance. "Naruto gets to work off some of his very excessive energy… I get to beat the hell out of vicious flying objects…" he sighed again and said, "Alright, I'm game."

"YEAH!"

"Great!" said Harry, relieved. "Try outs are next Saturday. Let me get the balls and we can practice."

An hour later, Harry, Ron, Naruto, and Sasuke trudged back to the castle, ecstatic-- except for Sasuke, who was, of course, bored. They met Sakura and Hermione in the Great Hall for supper, Harry and Ron still raving over the other two's abilities.

"And Naruto is like a bloody bird out there—he's like a blond-haired blue-eyed Harry, and Sasuke's pretty brilliant, too," Ron was saying, waving his spoon of mashed potatoes animatedly. "But it's their _teamwork_ that's the kicker. They make Fred and George look like random next door neighbors!"

While Hermione choked on her pumpkin juice, Sakura shrugged and agreed, "That's Naruto and Sasuke for you."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who had witnessed many, many insult matches between Naruto and Sasuke stared at her. They had pretty much stopped believing her when she said Sasuke and Naruto were friends.

She scowled back and demanded, "What? Don't look at me like that! It's true!"

Hermione sighed and muttered something that sounded a lot like, "_Boys_."

After supper, Harry and Naruto waved goodbye to their friends. They still had a detention for Snape to fulfill.

They headed towards Snape's new office chatting about nothing particular-- Naruto was really good at that— and knocked unenthusiastically when they reached it. Snape's cold, "Enter," met them through the door.

Harry pushed the door open, and the two Gryffindors trudged to Snape's desk. His office lacked its usual potions ingredients, but now resembled a darker cross between Mad Eye Moody's and Lupin's, with various dark-detecting objects and slimy creatures in jars and tanks. Black curtains were drawn over the windows.

He only looked up from grading papers when one of the contraptions on his desk, closest to Naruto, emitted a shrill, terrifying wail. Naruto and Harry jumped in surprise.

Snape glanced from the object to Naruto, his expression unreadable. Then he tilted it on its side, cutting off the noise, and muttered, "Interesting."

"What is?" asked Naruto, eyeing the contraption suspiciously.

"You will address me as 'sir,' Mr. Uzumaki," said Snape coldly. He turned to Harry and said, "Potter, you will separate the good flobberworms from the bad ones in the student supply closet. I will check your work, so don't try anything funny. Mr. Uzumaki… you will stay with me and discuss why this infallible device seems to think you are under the influence of very Dark magic."

Both Harry and Naruto froze. "WHAT?"

"Mr. Potter, the flobberworms will not sort themselves."

Harry immediately began to protest, but one absolutely deadly look from Snape stopped him in his tracks. Harry squirmed, torn between stubborn curiosity and self-preservation. In the end, he decided if Naruto was, indeed, a spy sent by Voldemort, Dumbledore would let him know.

Still growling just on principle, he turned heel and stalked out of the office, slamming the door on his way out.

Naruto turned to Snape, confused and horrified.

"Why did you say that?" he demanded. "You think it was easy lying to him to get his trust this past week? Now we'll have to start all over!"

"Lying to him to get his trust…" repeated Snape, looking vaguely amused behind his calculating expression. He shook the hypocrisy off, however, and returned to a fully calculating glare. "Now, do you have any explanation for why my Shadow Catcher device reacted to your presence, before I take this matter straight to the headmaster?"

"Shadow… Catcher?"

"It seems to think you are under a Dark possession," clarified Snape sourly. "Have you recently come under any Dark curses that may have left lingering magic?"

"Um… no…. But I'm not possessed, either…."

Before Naruto could even register a combative intent, Snape had drawn his wand and hissed, "_Legilimens!_"

Naruto was six, running down back alleys as fast as his little legs would carry him, praying his knowledge of the streets would keep him ahead of the angry mob of villagers that were shouting something about killing the 'fox brat.' But his orphan's check had mysteriously vanished again, so he hadn't had the money to eat in days… he couldn't run much longer hungry as he was….

He was nine, playing ninjas with Kiba and Shikamaru, when he noticed Sasuke Uchiha walking down the street, eyes on the ground, and he wondered if they should invite the lonely kid to play with them. But Sasuke, apparently feeling the attention, glanced up and scowled. He hurried down to the pier, leaving Naruto to shrug and keep playing.

He was twelve, and Sasuke stood in front of him while Haku was a heap on the ground. Blood hit the ground in rivulets from Sasuke's wounds. Naruto stared in shock. "What's… with that face… moron?" Sasuke panted.

"_Why?_" …did you save me?

"Pft," Sasuke breathed. "I hated you…." His knees hit the ground.

Naruto still couldn't move. "But… but… Why? Why me? I NEVER ASKED FOR YOUR HELP!"

Sasuke's back was to him. "I don't know…. My body just moved on its own…. Idiot…." He fell backwards into Naruto, and the needles dug into Naruto's jumpsuit.

Naruto was thirteen. He trudged into his apartment, noticing distantly that the door was already open. His belongings were thrown everywhere, broken or covered in dark red paint. He sighed. _Not again_…. He tried to flip on a light, but found the bulb shattered on the floor. He walked carefully over the glass shards of the light bulb and his dishes into his bedroom. The window was busted, and in the twilight leaking through, he read on his wall, _DIE DEMON BRAT_, and _LEAVE KONOHA ALONE, MONSTER._

And suddenly Snape was in front of him, and he was on the floor.

He rubbed his head, dazed, and asked eloquently, "Heh?"

"Demon brat? Monster?" Snape returned bitingly. "What are you? Does the headmaster have any idea?"

"…You could read kanji?" mumbled Naruto, sitting up and scowling as he tried to figure out what had just happened. He had never experienced anything like it, and Sasuke had pulled a lot of freaky genjutsus on him in his day.

"The mind isn't written in languages, boy," sneered Snape. "And if you do not answer me at once, I will stun you and take you to Dumbledore immediately! There is a very Dark magic inside of you, and I will not tolerate it inside this school without a _damn_ good reason!"

The pieces snapped into place, and Naruto shot to his feet, incited. Snape was using _those_ eyes on him. Cold, unseeing, angry. _Demon brat_. "Look here, you bastard! Dumbledore-san knows exactly what he paid for when he hired me and my team, and if he doesn't have a problem with it, then I'm sure as hell not taking any crap about it from you! Thanks for nothing, you old grease bag!"

Snarling, he pried open the door and stomped out into the corridor, slamming the door shut behind him. How dare that man say something like he had in front of their charge? They were undercover! Did he have any idea how suspicious Harry could be? That stupid scumbag could have ruined their entire mission right there! He was outside the Gryffindor portrait of the fat lady before he realized he was shaking and his entire body felt weak. He paused. The fat lady asked for the password, but he ignored her. He felt like he was getting sick. He was trembling and his thoughts were swimming. What had that bastard done to him?

Shaking his head, he gave the password and stumbled into the common room. He found Sasuke, Sakura, and Hermione doing homework in front of the fire while Ron played a game of Exploding Snap with Dean, Seamus, and Neville.

He stumbled forward and sank onto the ground next to Sasuke, who immediately looked up, frowning.

"Dobe? What happened to having detention with Harry?" His eyes scoured his teammate, taking in the baffled and slightly wounded expression in combination with the slumped shoulders and unfocused gaze. "Naruto, what'd he do? Where's Harry?"

The sudden urgency in his tone made Sakura, Hermione, and Ron look over at them, too. Sasuke didn't care. He hadn't seen Naruto look this… _off_ since he realized Sasuke was trying to kill him.

"Harry's sorting flobberworms," Naruto mumbled. "Snape wanted to 'talk' to me."

"…About what?" asked Sakura, coming closer with her brow furrowing in open concern.

Naruto frowned, feeling something in his stomach twist uncomfortably. Was something pulling him? "I feel… sick."

Naruto barely noticed Sasuke grab him by both shoulders and turn him so that they were face to face or when Sasuke's eyes gleamed crimson. Within a few seconds, they returned to black, but now the black was… _almost_ frightened. That made Naruto blink.

"There are traces of his magic in your mind," said Sasuke as quietly and calmly as he could. He realized Sakura and Hermione, who were closest to him, probably heard, anyway. "What spell did he use on you? Naruto, _think_, this is important!"

Naruto blinked again. Something was definitely pulling at him. But where? There was only Sasuke, and though his hands gripped his shoulders, he wasn't pulling…. "I dunno… He was asking me funny questions, and then I started remembering stuff… but he could see it, too… and then he got mad about the Kyuubi…."

"Was the spell, '_Legilimens'_?" Sasuke cut him off, and Naruto made an 'ah' face. The mission. Right. He couldn't talk about the Kyuubi.

Naruto thought back. He had been taken by surprise, and everything was so fuzzy now, anyway. But… "Yeah, I think it was. Why? What does it… do?" He broke off, suddenly dizzy. Something was pounding inside his head. Pounding and pulling. What was going on? He had just noticed Sasuke jump to his feet. "Sasuke… what's…?"

"Professor Snape used Legilimency on Naruto?" demanded Hermione, stunned, in the background. "Why would he do that? Naruto's a student! That has to be illegal!"

Sasuke, however, ignored her comments and asked sharply, "Do you know of any spells that would refortify his mental barriers besides Occlumency?"

Hermione floundered, caught off guard by the intensity of his gaze. "Wh-wha-? Oh! Um, _Ennervate_ is used to bring back consciousness, but I'm not sure of its effects on an already awake person. It might make him more alert. Why? I mean, it was really foul of Snape to do it, but Legilimency shouldn't have any permanent effects. Harry did this for months last year to learn Occlumency, and he was always fine by morning."

"His mind will be even more defenseless in sleep," muttered Sasuke, suddenly very aware of the stares they were starting to attract. Though the majority of the house was still at supper, a good half dozen people were craning around to see what the new students and prefect were so upset about.

"Sasuke-kun," said Sakura slowly, looking between her teammates. "What's going on?"

Sasuke shot her an irritated glance. "Gee, Sakura, I dunno. Snape was just fiddling around with Naruto's mind. What _else_ might he have disturbed in _Naruto's_ mind?"

While Sakura suddenly gasped, Sasuke hauled Naruto to his feet and said, "I'm taking him to Dumbledore. He has the seal, just in case."

Sakura made to get up as well, but Sasuke shot her a look. "You stay here." _Harry. The mission_. He left it unsaid but prayed she would understand and not make a scene.

It took her a moment, but comprehension lit her eyes, and she gave a short nod. "Right." She didn't feel safe adding, 'Good luck,' because she suddenly realized she would be left with a ferociously curious Hermione Granger. _Shit_.

Sasuke pulled Naruto along, barely stopping himself from simply slinging his teammate over his shoulder and running. Naruto was just distracted, he told himself, not incapable of walking.

"Dobe, whatever the Kyuubi is doing to you, just focus on pushing him back. Be your usual stubborn self and don't let him control you, understand?" Sasuke said as they walked. Sharingan activated, he could see Naruto's chakra roil in turbulence, blue and red-orange battling beneath his skin, slowly beginning to leak out. Naruto's eyes were distant, glazed, and the turmoil worsened. "Naruto! Goddammit, concentrate! We're in a school full of defenseless children! You cannot lose control!" When Naruto failed to respond yet again, Sasuke growled, hauled Naruto over his shoulders, and sprinted the rest of the way to Dumbledore's office. There was no way he was letting the stupid dobe ruin this mission in the first week, he told himself now.

It was late enough that the corridors were deserted, and he got to the stone gargoyle within seconds. "Acid Pops," he growled at the statue, and it leapt aside. He sprinted up the already moving staircase, and pounded on Dumbledore's door.

"Enter," said Dumbledore.

Sasuke threw the door open just as chakra began leaking through Naruto's skin in slow-forming bubbles. He slung Naruto down into a chair in front of Dumbledore's desk and snapped, "Seal. Now."

Dumbledore only let his surprise cost them half a second, then he reached into his desk and pulled out the piece of parchment with Jiraiya's seal. As instructed, he slapped the seal onto Naruto's forehead.

Naruto slumped forward in his chair, unconscious within seconds. Sasuke checked with his Sharingan to make sure the chakra was fully suppressed before taking up the seat beside Naruto. He didn't look at Dumbledore for several seconds. Dumbledore allowed the silence, then broke it gently with,

"Thank you for reacting so quickly. If I may ask, what happened? I heard he only loses control in very emotionally distressing situations."

Sasuke scowled and said, "Why don't you ask your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?" When Dumbledore raised his eyebrows in vague surprise, Sasuke continued coldly, "He used Legilimency on him. Naruto's mental barriers are already delicately balanced between him and the Kyuubi. Any outside influence like that disturbs the balance and they fight for dominance again. You should count yourself lucky I have experience with Legilimency or I would have been just as confused about the events as Naruto."

"Yes… I do believe the Dark Lord was one of the best Legilimens I have ever encountered." He looked at Sasuke expectantly.

Sasuke, seeing what he was trying to do, only gave a brief nod. Dumbledore continued to look curious, however, so Sasuke ended the conversation with, "It only worked the first time. Turns out, I am a fantastic Occlumens. Naruto, however, does not have the state of mind that precludes such things as genjutsu, Legilimency, and Occlumency. You would do well to advise your subordinate to not try that again. Unless, of course, you want a natural disaster on your hands."

"That would be quite terrible," agreed Dumbledore calmly. He apparently realized he wasn't going to get Sasuke to confide in him about Voldemort, so he continued in a business-like tone, "Would you suggest Mr. Uzumaki take a night in the hospital wing for observation, or might he be better off under your supervision in the dorms?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto, slumped forward with his usual gracelessness, tag still on his forehead. If Naruto lost control again in the dorms, he would be a direct threat to their charge and mission. But… Sasuke was the quickest thinker, so he needed to be near Naruto in case of emergency, but he couldn't leave Harry overnight to stay with Naruto in the hospital wing. Sakura was stuck in the girls' dorms. But if Naruto was stuck in the hospital wing without him and he lost control, there was no telling what havoc he could wreak. Sasuke deliberated.

"The dorms," he said at length. "His chakra is suppressed even while he is unconscious. The threat should be over."

Dumbledore nodded once. "Very well. I shall leave him in your capable hands. One more thing before you go, however. I realize Miss Haruno is the team leader, and I am perfectly fine to wait while you consult with her, but I would like to request a slight change of directives for this mission. As I will have to leave the castle often over the next few months, I would like it if the three of you could extend your protection to the rest of the castle, were something to happen in my absence. Of course, you will be compensated appropriately, and I will write to your hokage if you agree. Tentatively, what do you say?"

Sasuke gave an infinitesimal bow. "An easy adjustment. I'm sure Sakura will have no problems agreeing to it."

Dumbledore smiled, more relieved than he would show. As Sasuke stood to leave, he asked, "Would you like some tea before you go? Or a lemon drop, perhaps?"

Sasuke gave him a Look. The headmaster had offered the trio the same thing every time they came to his office to discuss the mission over the summer, and every time, Naruto was the only one who ever accepted.

Dumbledore chuckled upon his familiar response. "Very well," he repeated. "Have a good night, Mr. Uchiha."

"Thank you, headmaster." Sasuke bowed fractionally before pulling the tag off Naruto's forehead. The blond opened his eyes and blinked a few times, looking confused. "Come on, dobe. I'm not carrying your lazy ass again."

Dumbledore chuckled as the two boys left, both snapping insults at the other all the way out of earshot. He didn't miss the way Sasuke reached out and steadied Naruto when the blond stumbled, all in the guise of pulling his 'lazy ass' along. He had to admit, he had never seen a friendship quite like theirs. It was intriguing, to say the least. He wondered distantly how Sakura fit into the picture. She was the main variable in the plans Dumbledore, Sarutobi, Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Itachi had worked on. The unknown third teammate. He hoped she would play her part well. Lives depended on it.

Dumbledore sighed after a moment of contemplation and wrote a brief note to send to Severus. Severus had no doubt found out about Naruto's dark chakra and mistakenly thought the boy was being possessed by Voldemort. He'd have to explain what he could about the Kyuubi, so he invited the man to tea in the morning. It wouldn't do for Snape to attack their foreign guests again.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! Posting quickly so I can get to class. Just wanted to say thank you again to all my wonderful, lovely, AWESOME reviewers! You guys rock and inspire and... everything else. =D**


	5. Delicate Balance

**Chapter 4: Delicate Balance**

"This is hell," said Sakura, sinking onto the ground below the tree Sasuke had climbed into.

Sasuke grunted from his branch, and Naruto answered by falling down limply next to Sakura.

"I'm never going to lie again after this mission," claimed Naruto, falling onto his back when Sakura pushed him away. "I'm surprised we're still using our real names with this freaking record."

Sasuke grunted again. Sakura moaned weakly in agreement.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were rabid for information. Snape really had screwed the ninjas over by saying Naruto was under Dark influence in Harry's presence, and it hadn't helped when Hermione informed them he had even resorted to using Legilimency on a student and said student had a very bad reaction that resulted in going to the headmaster for some sort of 'seal.'

Sakura had tried to explain it away by saying Naruto had been subject to a mental-based Dark curse in their home village and the magic had not only left traces, but had also affected his mental stability. Naruto was still growling about that last part, which had of course been added by Sasuke. Sakura had tried to pass away the use of 'seal' as a mistranslation on Sasuke's part. It was justifiable since a translation spell wasn't making his Japanese to English perfect, but she didn't think Hermione bought it. She had claimed that his Ancient Runes translations were always perfect, and he had more experience with English (being constantly submerged in it and all) than ancient runes.

Sasuke had finally gotten him and his teammates a few hours' rest by placing a well-timed question about something Hermione had let slip that night. "But why did Harry need to learn Occlumency last year? I thought students were supposed to be mentally protected inside the walls of Hogwarts. Well, besides from corrupt Defense teachers, of course." Hermione had turned bright pink and immediately switched to a neutral subject.

Of course, Dumbledore had already told them about Harry's scar connecting him to Voldemort, but the Golden Trio didn't need to know that.

They managed to get through the next week by combining their cover story with pointed questions at the Golden Trio in turn. It was a tough game and a very delicate balance to play it in, with their attempt at friendship squeezing itself in, too.

By the next weekend, Naruto and Sasuke had landed themselves as beaters on the Quidditch team, to many Gryffindors' support, and the good feelings spawned among men by Quidditch eased the friendship for a while.

They fell into place almost effortlessly in Hogwarts life, besides that constant underlying suspicion. Sakura, Sasuke, and Hermione frequently visited the library and studied together, while Harry, Ron, and Naruto hung out and played around the common room. Sasuke, they found out, was the only Gryffindor that could beat Ron at chess (though a few games were incredibly close), and Sakura took the opportunity to teach Ron shougi. Harry and Naruto found a great time in visiting Hagrid while the others were busy, and, for a few weeks, life at Hogwarts was good.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Late September found the two Gryffindor trios chatting at breakfast. Sakura and Naruto's conversation about something mundane was interrupted by Hermione's shrill voice. Harry was in the process of fixing a new cover to his graffitied potions book and replacing the old cover onto the brand new potions book. Hermione, who had been bitter about that written-in book, was near a heart attack.

"Hermione, why are you so concerned about a book?" asked Sakura, voicing what the shinobi had all been wondering.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione shared a look, but Hermione broke it off by saying, "I'm just concerned about the nature of some of the spells written in it! They're handwritten, so they're obviously not Ministry approved, and they don't even say what most of them do! What if Harry uses one and it turns out to be really Dark magic or something else illegal?"

Sasuke and Sakura got the feeling she wasn't being completely honest; the way she, Harry, and Ron avoided their eyes as she said it almost proved that, but Sakura played along with it. "Well, why don't you let Naruto take a look at it?"

"_What_?" chorused Harry, Ron, Hermione, and even Naruto in surprise. While Naruto wasn't bad in classes (besides explosions more frequent than Seamus'), he seemed a far cry from being an expert in anything, especially spell work.

Sasuke, however, had caught on and simply sipped at his pumpkin juice while Sakura explained, "Naruto created new spells all the time back at home. Even though the structure here is a little different, I'm sure you could at least tell the spell's basics, right, Naruto?"

Naruto looked stumped. "Huh?"

"Remember your Sexy Jutsus?" muttered Sasuke from the corner of his mouth, not looking up from the Daily Prophet he had just liberated from Hermione.

"Oh! Ha-ha, right, sure. I do know some about spell-creation," said Naruto, grinning and rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Here, let me take a look."

Harry begrudgingly passed the book over to Naruto.

The translation spell, Naruto saw as he searched for anything familiar in the strange Latinate words, seemed to translate even these words if he concentrated enough. Below each tiny, scrawled spell, he saw something else written like subtitles. The titles of the spells in English- or Japanese; whichever his mind thought in these days. It was actually hard to tell, sometimes.

He skimmed through, catching things like 'Toenails" and "Muffled Noise" and "Anti-gravity." They all seemed fairly harmless, until he came to one titled, "Severe Cutting."

He frowned. _Sectumsempra_. Beside it was scribbled, "_For Enemies_."

"It all looks pretty tame," he said slowly, passing the book back, "except for that Sectumsempra one. Something about severe cutting. I don't know how severe it means, but it says 'for enemies,' so I'm guessing it's at least debilitating…."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Sakura looked impressed with his skills. Sasuke, however, cocked his head to the side as he read the Prophet and asked, "Who is Stanley Shunpike?"

"He's a guy who works for the Knight Bus," said Harry, looking up at the unexpected question. Hermione did, too, and when she saw Sasuke reading her paper, she snatched it back with a glare. Sasuke looked unrepentant.

Hermione smoothed out the page he had been reading, and her eyes widened. "It says he's been arrested for being a Death Eater!"

Ron spat out his mouthful of pumpkin juice. Harry stammered, "_W-what_?"

"He was overheard talking about the Death Eaters' secret plans in a pub." She looked up with a troubled expression on her face. "If he was under the Imperius Curse, he'd hardly stand around gossiping about their plans, would he?"

"It sounds like he was trying to make out he knew more than he did," said Ron. "Isn't he the one who claimed he was going to become Minister of Magic when he was trying to chat up those veela?"

"Yeah, that's him," said Harry. "I dunno what they're playing at, taking Stan seriously."

"They probably want to look as though they're doing something," said Hermione, frowning. "People are terrified — you know the Patil twins' parents want them to go home? And Eloise Midgen has already been withdrawn. Her father picked her up last night."

"What!" said Ron, goggling at Hermione. "But Hogwarts is safer than their homes, bound to be! We've got Aurors, and all those extra protective spells, and we've got Dumbledore!"

At this, Naruto took a quick drink of pumpkin juice to stop himself from adding, 'And kickass shinobi!', Sakura hid a small smile with a bite of muffin, and Sasuke inconspicuously reached for Hermione's Prophet again.

"I don't think we've got him all the time," said Hermione very quietly, glancing toward the staff table, giving Sasuke time to take the paper back while she was unaware. He opened it and started reading again. "Haven't you noticed? His seat's been empty a lot this past week."

Harry and Ron looked up at the staff table, solemn. The headmaster's chair was indeed empty. Again, the ninja didn't react; they were told every time the headmaster left so they could increase their precautions.

"I think he's left the school to do something with the Order," said Hermione in a low voice. "I mean…it's all looking serious, isn't it?"

Harry and Ron did not answer, but they were all thinking the same thing. There had been a horrible incident the day before, when Hannah Abbott had been taken out of Herbology to be told her mother had been found dead. They had not seen Hannah since.

"The Order?" asked Naruto. "What's that?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione froze. That caused Sakura and Sasuke to look up, too.

"Um, nothing," said Hermione too quickly. "Just some group of old wizards…."

"Oh?" asked Sasuke. "And what do those old wizards do that pertains to the seriousness of the war?"

Hermione blushed scarlet while Ron gaped and Harry scowled.

"Ah," said Sakura sympathetically. "Must be a secret organization of old men that they weren't supposed to talk about in public. Maybe they fight Voldemort. Or maybe they're planning to take over the Ministry. But don't worry," she added with a grin to the trio's horrified looks. "Your secret's safe with us."

She went on to snatch the Daily Prophet out of Sasuke's hands and hand it back to Hermione, who took it dazedly.

"Ano… there's something I've been wondering about," said Naruto, looking at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "What is your war about? I mean, not that I paid much attention at the Academy, but aren't wars usually started over government and expansion and stuff? So, um, what does this Voldemort guy want that has everyone so scared?"

"Besides killing me?" snorted Harry, making all three ninjas tense unnoticeably. "Well, he wants to exterminate Muggle-borns from the magical world, for one. And he wants to use Dark magic openly, not to mention make Muggle-killing a sport."

Naruto's mouth made an 'O.' "So that pureblood stuff means a lot to them, huh?" he muttered, casting a glance at Sasuke. They had decided that 'magic' in their families was whether the person in question was shinobi or not, so Sasuke had the most 'pureblood' history of the three of them.

"So you guys have that problem, too, then?" asked Harry, catching the glance.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Not exactly. We have more discrimination between clans than magical and non-magical people."

Naruto glared at him. "But the Uchihas and Hyuugas are the two oldest families in Konoha, and you think you're better than everyone else, and all the Hyuugas except Hinata think they're better than everyone else…. Hell, between the two families, you own half of Konoha."

Sasuke rolled his eyes again. "I only think I'm better than everyone else because I am. So was most of my family. It's not arrogance. It's fact."

"Well," said Ron through a mouthful of porridge, "your family can't have been that good if they're all dead-"

"RON!" shrieked Hermione. Ron looked confused about why she was upset, and Harry let his face fall into his hands.

The air around Sasuke seemed suddenly cold and electric. His eyes, though as expressionless as always, were somehow harder, icier.

Sakura cringed away from him, cowering under the invisible homicidal crashes of lightning, and Naruto chuckled nervously.

"Aha, Sasuke, don't kill him!" he said quickly, as if joking. But they all knew there was no joking in his plea. "He's just an idiot- worse than me! And I've insulted your family a whole lot, so if you want to kill him, you'll have to kill me first! It's only fair…."

It was a nifty tactic, in Naruto's opinion. If he couldn't stop Sasuke from being homicidal, he could at least direct that murderous intent to himself, who could handle it long enough to let Ron run for it.

Sasuke rose with the grace of a _very_ experienced predator, turning the full tidal wave of acidic rage onto Naruto, and Naruto laughed nervously again, second-guessing his brilliant plan. He remembered the only real battle he and Sasuke had ever fought, at the Valley of the End, and how Sasuke had won, and he felt his resolve waver even more.

And, suddenly, Sasuke turned and stalked from the Hall.

Naruto slumped in his chair, breathing a sigh of relief, and he heard Ron do the same from across the table.

"How," asked Ron after several tense seconds of silence, "is that guy not in Slytherin?"

Sakura snorted, and Naruto gave another shaky laugh.

"Seems like he and You-Know-Who would be _real_ chummy," Ron added under his breath, but they all heard it.

Sakura and Naruto shared a look. They couldn't tell Ron that Voldemort actually was nothing more than an annoyance to Sasuke, who had lived with him for several months.

Instead, Sakura said weakly, "Well, he did have a valid point. He's not just saying he's talented because of his blood; he was first in our class on his own merit. And our school had a very active Dueling Club, and no one could beat Sasuke one-on-one."

"Except Itachi," muttered Naruto, getting the dueling club cover for their real battles. "Itachi would have killed him if Pervy Sage hadn't stepped in. And Haku beat him… but that was only because Sasuke was busy protecting me, too…." He went quiet over the bitter memory.

Sakura, too, went quiet. She hadn't been by Sasuke's side for both fights like Naruto had, but she remembered the bumpiness in their friendship after both occasions.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione wisely kept their mouths shut, even though the new names brought up just as many questions. Ron had already screwed up their delicate friendship for the day, so they'd be quiet until the dust settled. Again.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

The first week of October came with an announcement on the Gryffindor notice board. Hermione and Sakura, waiting downstairs for the boys so they could go to breakfast, noticed it immediately.

"What's Hogsmeade?" asked Sakura, though she, Naruto, and Sasuke had gotten well acquainted with it over the summer. But, as a new student, she shouldn't know about it.

"It's a magical village about a mile from the school. Third years and above can get permission to go on certain weekends," said Hermione. "It's got places like bookstores, joke shops, candy shops, a haunted shack, pubs…. It's always a nice way to get out of the school for a few hours."

"That sounds like fun," Sakura agreed. But something else had caught her attention. Permission. She knew Harry had gotten permission to go, so at least two ninja should be with him outside of the castle's protection. But now they were obligated to protect the rest of the castle, so one would need to stay behind. Not able to get permission could be the perfect excuse. "How do we get permission to go?"

"Well, we were sent permission forms for our parents to sign before our third year. I'm sure Dumbledore could owl some to your parents before next weekend."

Parents? Okay, this could get complicated. "But what about Sasuke and Naruto?" she asked, anxious. "They're both orphans."

"N-Naruto is, too?" asked Hermione, obviously surprised. "I never would have guessed. He's always so… cheerful and hyper."

Sakura nodded sadly. She could remember a time when she thought that was the _reason_ Naruto was always so happy and hyperactive. A time before Sasuke set her straight. She brushed the memories aside, however, and said, "I know, right? But yeah, his parents were killed when he was a baby, I think. So what about their permission?"

Hermione winced at the elaboration, but answered softly, "Their guardians can sign for them. Harry had to get his godfather's permission."

"…They don't have guardians…."

"What?" Hermione stared at Sakura, stunned again. "But, then, who do they live with? Who took care of them? They can't have been alone since infancy and seven!"

Sakura blinked. Well, yeah, Sasuke had lived alone since he was seven. He had refused to go into the orphanage, and he had no relatives to take him in. But Naruto… she had never thought about that before. Of course a baby couldn't take care of itself. So who had taken care of him before he got his own apartment? _Did_ Naruto have relatives somewhere?

"Well, Sasuke inherited the entire Uchiha compound and he lives there by himself, and Naruto has his own apart he lives at alone…."

Hermione looked physically pained at the revelation. "But… isn't that lonely? What kind of childhood is that?"

Sakura shared her sadness. "Neither of them had much of a childhood, I think."

At breakfast, Sakura asked quietly during a lull in the others' conversations, "Hey Naruto?"

Naruto looked up immediately. Sakura was using that voice she only reserved for special occasions, that made it sound like she actually cared. He grinned hopefully. "Yeah, Sakura-chan?"

"Um… I was wondering…."

"Yeah…?" His grin faded fractionally at her cautiousness.

"Who… who did you live with when you were young? I never thought about it before. You've lived on your own as long as I remember. But you obviously couldn't take care of yourself when you were a _baby_, so…"

Naruto laughed aloud. That was it? She had had him worried for a second. "At the orphanage, silly. Where else? I don't have any family. Er… I think."

He scratched his head thoughtfully.

"Then how did you end up with an apartment by the time you entered the Academy?" she asked, exasperated that he hadn't told the whole story with her obvious first hint.

Naruto's face blanked for a second, surprised at where the conversation was going, especially in front of their charges. But then he pulled his goofy cover back up and grinned toothily, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, the orphanage kicked me out when I was four or five or something, and then the Third found me-"

"Found you?" repeated Hermione softly, looking concerned.

He grinned toothily again. "Yeah, I lived on the streets for a few weeks, I think. And then the Headmaster at the time, the Third, took me in until he could get me an apartment. I was supposed to pay him back, but I guess I'll just buy Konohamaru something nice, now, ha-ha."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and muttered, "Baka."

"Why? What happened?" asked Harry.

Naruto answered shortly, "He died a few years ago. Konohamaru is his grandson." He tried not to look at Sasuke, whose teacher had killed the old man; he really tried. But he failed. Harry noticed.

Sasuke ignored the look and stole Hermione's Daily Prophet while she was distracted with the sob story.

"So, ano, what brought this on all of a sudden?" Naruto asked Sakura, slurping his oatmeal.

"Oh. Just that we need permission from our guardians to go to the Hogsmeade village next weekend. I was wondering about you and Sasuke-kun."

"Well, according to their Ministry's laws, Naruto and I have been emancipated since we became our own care-providers," said Sasuke, skimming the front page of the paper and, finding nothing interesting, opening it to look at the recent events. "We can make our own legal decisions. You might consider asking McGonagall to owl your parents, however."

Sakura nodded. So she would have the excuse of over-protective parents and stay with the school while Sasuke and Naruto went with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Yeah, I'll ask after breakfast."

And so, two days before the Hogsmeade trip, Sakura received her first owl bearing post. She took the roll of parchment off the bird, letting it fly away, and announced, "It's from my parents."

It was actually written by Sasuke, who had given it to the owl about an hour before his dorm mates woke up that morning. He was the only one who could switch between English and Kanji without intense concentration to override a translation spell, and this had to be written in Kanji to avoid suspicion.

She allowed her face to fall noticeably and then turn to slight anger. "They said they won't allow me to go," she huffed. Hermione looked up in dismay. "They don't want me out of the castle's protection. Over-protective bastards."

"So they'll let you go to school halfway across the world for school but not one mile to the left?" asked Ron, snorting. "Sounds like my mum."

Sakura sighed. "My mother seems to think the Akatsuki will go after the survivors of our school, so she doesn't want me where Professor Dumbledore's wards won't follow. She wouldn't have let me come here if Dumbledore hadn't sworn this is the safest place in the whole United Kingdom."

Ron commented that she sounded like his mother again, while Hermione tutted sympathetically. Harry said,

"I'm surprised I'm allowed to go, too, because of Voldemort. Usually the Ministry makes me take a battalion of Aurors if I so much as take a step out of a door."

Naruto choked on his pumpkin juice, and Sasuke slammed a fist on his back, sending him crashing unceremoniously into the edge of the table. Naruto winced, but his pumpkin juice and guilty thoughts of revealing the three ninjas were actually better than a whole battalion of Aurors were gone.

"Didn't Dumbledore say there were Aurors stationed in Hogsmeade? Tonks, specifically?" asked Hermione, eyeing Naruto and Sasuke suspiciously. "That must be why you're allowed to go this year, Harry."

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

That night, Harry, Ron, and Hermione stayed up well into the night. They had made some lame excuse to get the foreign students to go to bed without them, and the three had accepted it, even though Hermione got the impression they didn't believe it.

When they finally had the common room to themselves, Ron stretched out on a sofa and yawned, "So, what's gotten your knickers in a twist this year, Hermione? You're not still on that 'spew' kick, are you?"

Hermione glared at him, but Harry said, "This is about the new guys, isn't it? You think they're suspicious, too."

Hermione smiled grimly. "Exactly."

She took out a roll of parchment Harry had thought was an Arithmancy essay and tapped her wand to it. Instantly, the essay turned into a bulleted list. She handed it to Harry, who skimmed it with interest. Ron climbed off his sofa to come read over Harry's shoulder.

"I've been keeping track of things that strike me as odd for about two weeks, now. Ever since that night you and Naruto had detention with Snape," she continued. "I had thought to give them the benefit of doubt, but that just seemed too odd. So I went back as far as I could remember. What do you think?"

Harry snorted. "Went back as far as you could? You have that the Sorting hat started to say Slytherin when it was sorting Sasuke! That was the very first night!"

Hermione blushed. "Well, it was memorable. I've never heard the hat change its mind. It sort of just mumbled Gryffindor, too, like it didn't like it."

Harry scratched his chin as he continued reading down the list. "But didn't you say the hat never misplaces a student? It must have found something at the last minute or something."

Hermione frowned, unconvinced.

On the list beneath the Sorting was "Akatsuki?" and "Snape and Sasuke?"

Harry said, "Didn't Sasuke already explain how he knew Snape? An acquaintance of his teacher's friend?"

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Haven't you noticed that Snape loathes him almost as much as you, Harry? Sasuke said they met only briefly. There's a lot more hatred between them than a brief meeting between distant acquaintances."

Harry nodded. He had noticed during Defense classes that Snape called out Sasuke just as much as Harry, and since Sasuke did everything perfectly, the attacks were mostly cryptic insults. Sasuke never explained them.

Next on the list was "Violent school? Frequent mentions of 'saving.'" Well, they had explained that okay in Harry's opinion with comparing it to Hogwarts. Didn't he, Ron, and Hermione face dangers every year?

As if sensing his thoughts, Hermione said, "The reason we'd understand a dangerous school is because we're with you, Harry. Voldemort's constantly putting dangers in your path, and we're always with you. So if their experience was like ours, who is after them? And which one of them?"

"D'you think you might be reading a bit much into this, Hermione?" asked Harry. "I mean, plenty of people in Hogwarts have their own dramas and stuff without being targets of Voldemort…."

"Out of all the schools in Japan, why theirs?" Hermione said as if bringing up a trump card.

Harry and Ron stared. "They have multiple schools?"

"Well, yeah," said Hermione, looking disappointed her trump card didn't have the effect she'd wanted. "Sakura explained it to me. There are four others. They're called the Hidden Academies of Magic; each is located in an entirely magical village, and students go to them during the day and go home in the evenings. She said they're a lot smaller than Hogwarts, about the size of Muggle public schools. Their emblems are the leaf, sand, stone, mist, and cloud. Haven't you noticed the metal leaf emblems Naruto and Sakura have tied to their book bags?"

Ah, Harry thought. He had noticed the strange metal plates, but he hadn't realized the swirl design was a leaf.

"Oh," said Harry. "Okay, that is a little more suspicious."

Hermione nodded, pleased.

Next on the list: "School standards abnormally high, judging from Sasuke and Sakura's performances. How powerful is Akatsuki to beat the school, and how powerful are Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to survive?"

Harry winced at that one. That one, while a fair suspicion, just seemed indecent. The three had seen their friends and peers killed before their eyes. How were Harry, Ron, and Hermione supposed to find out anything more without being jackasses?

Next: "Sasuke and D. Malfoy? Was the acquaintance of his teacher Lucius Malfoy, so he also met Snape and Draco? And why would D. Malfoy call Sasuke a Muggle-born if his family is obviously pureblood?"

A valid question. "But…" Harry began, frowning. "Malfoy said he heard his father talk about Sasuke. So Sasuke would have met Lucius and Snape through his teacher…."

"A Death Eater meeting," breathed Ron, catching on. "Blimey, you think maybe You-Know-Who sent them to spy on you and Dumbledore?"

Hermione shook her head, frowning severely. "That doesn't make sense. Why would Malfoy accuse him of being Muggle-born if he's on his side? And Snape hates him…."

"Maybe it's a cover-up," said Harry, thinking quickly. "Maybe Naruto and Sakura aren't in on it, so they weren't supposed to tell us that Sasuke's actually a pureblood. Or maybe they were, just to make things confusing."

"Because it's getting confusing, alright," muttered Ron.

Hermione, still frowning, looked thoughtful. "I don't know. The hat did want to put him in Slytherin, so it either changed its mind willingly like it's never done before… or he could have used powerful Dark magic on it like Moody did the Goblet of Fire…. I just don't know. Sasuke could be getting set up by someone; maybe he's the one Akatsuki is after."

"Or maybe he's a Death Eater in disguise," said Harry stubbornly. "I mean, what kind of teacher would introduce him to Snape and Malfoy?"

Hermione and Ron had dark expressions as they thought about it. Harry looked down at the next bullet on the list while they contemplated it.

"'I only wish to kill one man…' –Sasuke Uchiha. Who? Why?"

Good question. And his murderous intent did lean towards Death Eater. He pointed it out to Ron and Hermione before moving on to the next point.

"Naruto likes the skrewts."

Harry snorted. That was odd behavior, alright.

"He wasn't injured at all by sparring with them."

Okay, that was pretty suspicious. But it could be explained by their 'very active dueling club.' Maybe they had more combat skills than most Hogwarts students because of that. That, however, only made the bullet about how powerful Akatsuki was in comparison to the students more suspicious, though. If they were all defeated even with advanced combat skills….

The next bullet was the longest and most interesting in Harry's opinion. Especially since he hadn't been there to see it.

"Why did Naruto set of Snape's Shadow Catcher, and why did he have such a bad reaction to Legilimency? How did Sasuke know there were traces of Snape's magic in Naruto's mind? Why did Snape get mad about 'the Kyuubi?' What 'seal' does Dumbledore have that Naruto needed?"

Harry, however, didn't see them getting an answer to that one anytime soon.

The last wasn't quite so suspicious, but worth looking into. "Naruto choked when Harry made a comment about going to Hogsmeade without a battalion of Aurors."

"In my mind," said Hermione, again seeming to sense where Harry's thoughts were, "there are only three reasons Naruto would be concerned about the Aurors. One, maybe he, Sakura, and Sasuke are undercover for Dumbledore to protect you. That way, he would know you actually have protection besides the Aurors."

"But they're our age!" said Ron incredulously.

"They're extremely advanced for our age," said Hermione grimly. "They could even be using a spell or potion to disguise their true ages. It would make their abilities more believable. And you have to admit, Dumbledore does tend to make sure Harry always has protection where ever he goes."

Harry scowled but nodded. "And numbers two and three?"

Hermione nodded and continued. "Number two, they actually are working against you, so the lessened security is appealing, and they're now planning to attack during Hogsmeade."

"And number three?" asked Harry grimly, considering number two silently.

"Number three… it reminded him of something personal, or maybe he really was just surprised about the security the Ministry usually makes you have." She shrugged. "There's really no way to know for number three. Maybe it was something else entirely."

"So you're leaning towards one of the first two?" surmised Harry.

Hermione nodded. "The first would make the story about their school just a cover-story, which would clear up the questions about Akatsuki and how dangerous their school was. The dangerous part could just be their training as guards or something. And it's more likely than Dumbledore letting Death Eaters into our school. It doesn't, however, make anything in the way of Sasuke. The Sorting hat, his knowing Snape and Lucius, wanting to kill a certain man… those are more like the Death Eater theory. There could also be a theory that Sasuke is a Death Eater while Sakura and Naruto are guards or Aurors, except that Sakura insists they're all great friends…."

"Well," said Ron, stretching his back with finality. "These things usually unravel themselves towards the end of the year, don't they? I say we go to bed and give it some more time before we attack them thinking they're Death Eaters." He paused and added, "Although, I think I'll be sleeping with my wand under my pillow from now on…."

Harry snorted, silently agreeing. Hermione rolled her eyes and reached to take her list back, but Harry held up his hand to stop her. He picked up one of her quills and scrawled at the bottom,

"Naruto looked at Sasuke when he said 'the Third' had died."

Hermione read it when he passed it back to her and frowned. "Did he really?" she muttered. "I wonder…."

When the three went up to bed, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura allowed their henge jutsus to break. Naruto came up from being a textbook, Sasuke jumped down from the window after being a paper plane, and Sakura stayed seated on the couch where she had been a cushion. They stared at each other for a moment.

"They," said Sakura, breaking the silence, "are good."

Naruto snorted at the understatement. Sasuke, who was apparently a clone, disappeared with a faint puff of smoke. Naruto did the same, and Sakura cursed that she didn't have the chakra to use a henge and shadow clone at the same time. She used a genjutsu to sneak back into her dorm after Hermione.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm so excited. Stuff is finally starting to happen again in the Naruto manga. Wasn't that an awesome addition today? Hehe. Anyways, thank you all my wonderful, lovely, incredible, fantastic reviewers! Your opinions matter to me and your comments inspire ideas for the story all on their own- so keep reviewing and I'll never run out of writing material. ;) And for all you Kakashi fans, he will be brought into this story, and so will Itachi, because I love them both, and they play fairly major parts in the plot. =) I promise to try and do their incredible characters justice.**

**Anywho, please review!**


	6. Friendships and Danger

**Chapter 5: Friendships and Danger**

Flashback

_Naruto couldn't sleep. He sat on a limb above Kakashi, looking out over River Country with an intense gaze common of him these days. Gaara was out there somewhere, dying because of the stupid old woman pretending to sleep between Sakura and Kakashi. Naruto let his gaze drift back to his companions. Kakashi was reading – or pretending to – while Sakura, Chiyo, and Sasuke appeared to be asleep around the campfire. Naruto's eyes skipped over Chiyo, still unable to properly face her after her admittance, and stopped hesitantly on Sasuke. Sasuke and Naruto had barely been back in Konoha a week when they were called to the Sand Siblings' aid. Even now, he couldn't quite get over how much Sasuke – and Sakura, even – had changed. They looked so much older, stronger…. He let his gaze wander back out to River Country, presumably towards Gaara._

_Sakura and Sasuke didn't understand what was driving him like fifty ton freight train towards the Sand Jinchuuriki. Sure, they knew they were allies now, but they didn't understand. They didn't know how similar he and Gaara were. They didn't know Konoha's Number One Unpredictable Ninja was also Konoha's Number One Secret Weapon – Konoha's Jinchuuriki._

_Naruto sighed to himself, closing his eyes briefly. How differently would they look at him if they knew? They had all seen the Demon Fox's Cloak leak out one time or another, and they hadn't commented on it afterwards. Would they hate him if they knew what it really was? Would they fear him, treat him like all the other villagers did?_

"_They trust you with their lives, Naruto," said Kakashi, casually flipping a page as if he weren't speaking at all. "I think you can at least repay them by trusting them with your secrets. You know. Just FYI."_

_Naruto blinked down at him, tempted to say 'Huh?' just for the randomness of the mindreading. But that was usual Kakashi behavior, so he instead tried to look thoughtful. It was a difficult task, but the darkness of the night helped._

_He sighed after a few moments and gave it up. "Shouldn't you uphold that law about not telling people, or something, Mr. Lazy-ass Jounin?"_

"_I don't know what you could possibly mean by that, Naru-chan."_

_Naruto scowled. The darkness hid Kakashi's expression… as did his, you know, mask. At length, Naruto sighed again. He looked back out towards River Country towards Gaara. Gaara had precious people now; he was trying his damnedest to follow in Naruto's footsteps. And Gaara was succeeding, slowly but surely, even though everyone knew he had a demon inside of him. Most of Naruto's precious people didn't know about his._

Maybe it's time you take Gaara's example for once,_ a little voice whispered to him._

_Naruto hesitated only another moment. "Well, I ain't gettin' any younger," he announced, making up his mind in a rush, as usual. He leaped down from the branch and knelt down between Sakura and Sasuke. He hesitated only for a second, again, before whispering, "Sakura-chan! Sasuke-teme!"_

_Sakura bolted upright, scanning the campsite for signs of the disturbance before she found Naruto. She blinked. "Naruto? What's the matter?"_

"_Bastard, I know you're awake, too. Get up. I've got something to tell you guys."_

"_I don't care. It's probably stupid," Sasuke grumbled, rolling over just enough to let Naruto see his dangerous just-woken-up scowl. It was scarier than it had been three years ago, Naruto noted distantly. He refused to acknowledge it, though. He only allowed himself the vague acknowledgment of gratitude that Sasuke's hadn't set anything on fire, still half-asleep. He was prone to doing that these days, Naruto had found out firsthand._

"_Bastard…" he growled, scowling in retaliation._

_Sasuke sighed and sat up, expression still dangerous. "Fine. This had better be important, idiot."_

_Naruto scowled another minute, just to make his point, before lowering his eyes thoughtfully. This had been as far as his spur of the moment plan had gotten him. "Um… well…" he floundered._

"_Is this about why you're so upset about Gaara-sama's kidnapping?" Sakura prompted quietly, displaying a moment of compassion towards her blond companion._

_Naruto smiled gratefully. "Hai, Sakura-chan. Well… you know how Gaara has the One-Tailed Beast sealed inside him? And that's what Akatsuki is after?" _

_They nodded. Sakura looked concerned, curious. Sasuke was glaring, telling him to make his point fast so he could get back to sleep._

"_Well… um… you know how our village was attacked by the Nine-Tails?" At their nods, he continued haltingly, "Well… you know how we were told the Fourth defeated it?" They nodded again. "Well… um, he didn't defeat it like we thought. He… he sealed it into a child, like Suna did to Gaara." Sakura's eyes widened. Sasuke's became slightly more awake, calculating. "He sealed it into a newborn. He… he sealed it into me." Naruto took a deep breath, staring at his hands, and concluded firmly, "I'm Konoha's Jinchuuriki, the Nine-Tailed Fox's vessel."_

_Silence._

"_I didn't mean you had to tell them right now," Kakashi pointed out from behind them, still reading._

_Naruto tried not to glare back at the man. He would have to get used to Kakashi again. It had been a while._

_Instead, Naruto stared at his hands, trying to gauge how his friends were taking this news without looking at them. What if he looked at them and saw… fear? Hate? Disgust? He couldn't bring himself to risk it._

"_That's why you want to save Gaara-sama so badly, then," whispered Sakura. Her voice didn't sound disgusted…. "If you save him… it means you have a chance, too. Naruto…"_

_Finally, Naruto looked up. Their eyes met. Sakura's expression was determined, but her eyes sparkled. Immediately, Naruto felt himself melting in relief, and he remembered just why he loved this girl._

"_Naruto, we won't let Akatsuki have you," she said slowly, as if letting each word ring with her determination. "Don't worry. We'll rescue Gaara-kun, and we'll have your back the entire time. You're our friend."_

_Naruto smiled, weak with gratitude. "Thank you, Sakura," he murmured, and she smiled in return. There was a second of silence, and then Naruto turned his gaze to Sasuke, suddenly even more nervous than before. Sasuke had just returned. Could their already broken, newly reforming bond handle this? Or would this chase him away again?_

_Sasuke's expression was unreadable as he stared at Naruto. Several long seconds passed in which Naruto wondered anxiously if he had just made another mistake with this friend._

_When Naruto could no longer stand it, he asked, "S-Sasuke?"_

_More silence. Sasuke continued staring at him. Then he said slowly, each word weighted not with determination, but with suppressed rage. "You… woke… me… up… _for that_? I don't care if you have the fucking Easter Bunny sealed inside you! Don't wake me up again unless the campsite is burning down!"_

_He harrumphed and threw himself back into his sleeping position, back to Naruto and Sakura._

_The two stared at him in astonishment._

_Naruto tried to quell his sudden burst of understanding and happiness behind an indignant scowl. Sasuke had said he didn't care what was sealed inside Naruto – in angry tones, but the tone was only there to hide the real words. He didn't care about the Kyuubi. He only saw Naruto._

_But if Sasuke wasn't going to admit his concern straight out, Naruto wouldn't either. "Bastard! You don't even care? I cared about your problems, you know! And you're not even interested!"_

_Sasuke growled and turned to face them, still lying down. He glared at Naruto. "Idiot. I always figured Konoha had a Jinchuuriki too, if all the other hidden villages had them. I just figured ours would be cooler than… you. But I guess this explains why I haven't heard of our 'secret weapon.' It was a failure."_

"…_BASTARD! I COULD KICK YOUR ASS INTO NEXT WEEK, KYUUBI OR NO!"_

"_IF YOU KEEP ME AWAKE ANOTHER MINUTE, I'LL KICK YOUR ASS BACK TO YOUR GODDAMN BUNNY'S FUCKING SEALING! NOW SHUT THE HELL UP!"_

End Flashback

* * *

Naruto huddled into his winter cloak, shivering uncontrollably. Beside him, Sasuke snorted at his dilemma, seemingly unaffected by the bitter, howling wind. Naruto narrowed his eyes and scowled. The bastard was probably using some cool Uchiha fire technique to keep warm and not look like an idiot. He wondered how many jutsus his family secretly used just so that they would never look 'uncool.' It seemed like something the stuck-up Uchihas would do.

Naruto, however, was not an Uchiha – thank God – but he was from Fire Country, which wasn't named for its freezing weather. This coldness was worse than their trip to Snow Country, and definitely worse than anything he'd felt in his home country.

"B-bastard," he growled through chattering teeth as he, Sasuke, Harry, Ron, and Hermione waited in line to leave for Hogsmeade. It was taking longer than normal, Hermione explained, because Filch was screening everyone for Dark artifacts.

Sasuke didn't even bother to roll his eyes at the insult but smirked when Ron complained, "What does it matter if we're smuggling Dark stuff OUT? Surely you ought to be checking what we bring back IN?"

Filch jabbed him a few extra times for his cheek, and Ron glowered as he went over to wait with Hermione while Harry, Naruto, and Sasuke were poked and prodded.

Harry got through without trouble, but the Secrecy Sensor went haywire, screaming like a fire siren, as it passed over Sasuke's shoulder where his Curse Mark was. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all jumped in surprise and stared at him in shock.

Filch leered. "Dumbledore said it might do that," he said. "But why don't we have a look, anyway?"

He reached as though to pull back the neck of Sasuke's robes, but Sasuke caught the man's wrist in a vice grip, eliciting a gasp of surprise from Filch, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Do. Not. Touch. Me," said Sasuke, narrowing his eyes but seeming otherwise unconcerned. He released Filch's wrist and walked past him to wait with the Golden Trio, who were till staring, shocked. He ignored them.

Filch glowered and eyed Naruto. "Just go," he grumbled. "Said it'd do the same with you, too."

Naruto laughed sheepishly and jogged up to where the others were waiting on him. Indeed, the Sensor whizzed quietly as he passed. "So, ah, Hogsmeade is that direction?" he said in response to the trio's stares.

They started walking, but Harry asked, "Why did the sensor go off on you guys? What happened?"

"Again, remnants from Dark curses from our school's attack," said Sasuke, sticking firmly to their cover story. "The same ones that made Snape's Shadow Catcher detect Naruto. Nothing new has happened, Harry."

"Look, we know that's a lie, already," said Harry with such bluntness, Sasuke and Naruto stared at him. He continued fiercely, "Hermione was hit with such a Dark curse she was in the hospital wing for a week taking ten potions a day, and the Sensor didn't do a thing near her. And that was more recent than your school's destruction. How about a little bit of truth every now and then, huh?" He glared for emphasis.

Naruto looked to Sasuke for direction, unsure how to escape this without blowing their cover. Sasuke just continued to look at Harry expressionlessly.

"You noticed," said Sasuke, "the Sensor make a very faint sound as it passed over the scar on your forehead?"

Harry's shoulders tensed. "Yeah. What of it? It didn't shriek like it did with you."

Sasuke was silent for a moment. He, Naruto, and the trio continued walking against the raging wind and sleet towards the village. And then Sasuke said without looking at anyone, "When Hermione was cursed, was she fighting, defending someone precious who could not fight, or did she throw herself into the curse knowing she would be severely injured or killed in someone's place, like your mother?"

Hermione looked intrigued by where this logic would lead while Harry answered, "She was… fighting, I guess. It was at the Ministry, against the Death Eaters. She silenced a Death Eater, then I put one in a body bind, and then the one she had silenced threw the curse at her, and she didn't have time to dodge. Why? What does that matter?"

"You should know what it matters better than anyone, Harry," said Sasuke without inflection. Emotions passed over Harry's face faster than Naruto could keep up with, but apparently Sasuke had said something about a sensitive subject. "It was your mother's sacrifice that saved you that night, wasn't it? Her love?"

"How did you know that?" asked Harry, and his voice shook. "Dumbledore and Voldemort were the only ones that figured it out. But Voldemort told his Death Eaters the night he came back…."

Sasuke shrugged, ignoring that he might have just painted himself as a Death Eater. Again. "It's not so hard to figure out, especially given what we already know from our own experiences. Hermione wasn't affected like we were because she was only fighting. Naruto took a Dark curse protecting me and Sakura. I took a Dark curse protecting him and Sakura. Emotions like that do funny things to Dark curses. If you had had the Sensor jabbed at you a few months after your mother died for you, it would have wailed, too."

Harry stiffened again at the reference and comparison, and Sasuke smirked. "What? Don't like me talking about Voldemort killing your mother? Well maybe Naruto and I don't like you talking about all our friends dying."

Naruto winced at the vicious avoidance tactic, but he couldn't help but admire the lie. Was Sasuke thinking of the chuunin exams, in the forest when Orochimaru attacked them? Because Naruto had gone down protecting Sasuke and Sakura, and then apparently Sasuke had kicked some ass before going down, too. And it was when Sasuke had received the Curse Mark, and Orochimaru had screwed up the Kyuubi's seal.

Maybe all their friends hadn't died on that day, but that was the day that began the break up of Team Seven. That was the day that caused Sasuke to leave them to chase that stupid Snake man for power.

"So, if just fighting didn't have an effect on a Dark curse," said Hermione, "because I wasn't using emotions, and sacrificing oneself saves the person you love at the cost of your own life, what does defending do, exactly? I mean, you're all obviously still alive…."

"Still not clear," said Sasuke, clearly bitter about being questioned even after he'd said he didn't want to talk about it. "I haven't exactly talked to the experts, who appear to be Dumbledore and Voldemort, but obviously, it saved our lives."

Hermione had the decency to blush. "Right. Sorry. We can talk about something else, now."

"Nah, it's okay," said Naruto, moving up past an irate Sasuke to better speak with the trio. He was getting an idea…. He grinned. "He just doesn't like talking about this part because it reminds him of how I saved his ass."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione raised their eyebrows, and Sasuke scowled.

"Excuse me," he snapped, eyes narrowed but trusting Naruto's lead. "I believe it was me who saved Sakura while you were busy being eaten by a giant fucking snake like a loser!"

Naruto cackled. "Hey- hey Sasuke! Did I ever tell you how I got out of that snake? It was hilarious!"

Sasuke's expression was long-suffering. "No," he sighed. "I don't believe you have. But it was probably something stupid."

"Wait- you were eaten by a _snake_?" said Ron, aghast. Indeed, Harry and Hermione also had wide eyes. And Sasuke suddenly saw the simple brilliance of Naruto's plan. Regale them with tales of a fight, and they don't question magical theory, and, with enough details in the stories, their cover-story seems that much more authentic. So they could talk about the chuunin exams like their school's destruction. Easy.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto's stupid face and took that back.

"Yup!" said Naruto. "It was _huge_, bigger than those giant spiders Hagrid showed me! Anyways, Sasuke, you inspired my brilliance for getting out."

"I'm sure I don't want to know," Sasuke drawled.

"So, I was about to be dissolved in its stomach acid, and I was trying to figure out how to make it throw me up when I remembered that eating contest we had on the Wave fieldtrip. Remember, Sasuke?" He elbowed his teammate happily. He informed the trio, who didn't remember, "Sasuke and I were trying to outdo each other in everything on that trip, so we both ate until we were so full we threw up."

"We were twelve," said Sasuke as if that explained everything. Harry and Ron snorted.

"Anyways, so I conjured a whole bunch of rocks," said Naruto, remembering that cloning was extremely weird in their culture, "until it was so full it _exploded_! So, not only did I defeat a humongous snake, I then went and saved his whiny ass." He jabbed a thumb at Sasuke, who rolled his eyes.

"More like barged in like an idiot and screwed everything up," muttered Sasuke.

"Screwed everything up?" repeated Naruto, shocked. "_You surrendered!_"

At Harry, Ron, and Hermione's disbelieving looks, Sasuke sighed and said lowly, "While Naruto was off laughing about some eating contest, Sakura and I were being shown our deaths by an actual Akatsuki member. It felt so real, Sakura was scared stiff. I had to stab myself in the leg to replace the fear with pain long enough to be able to move again. I got us out of the way of a few curses. I was trying to think of a way to get us out alive when _that_ idiot showed up and provoked our adversary into another fight."

"Oh, that was why?" said Naruto, comprehension dawning. "That must have been one hell of an illusion he showed you two. I had never seen you scared before. I thought you were an imposter."

Sasuke gave him a Look. "I know. You kind of shouted it at the top of your lungs, didn't you?"

Naruto laughed sheepishly. "Yeah, well… I was angry. I totally lost respect for you when it turned out you weren't a fake. Just a coward." He smiled sweetly.

Sasuke continued Looking at him. "Dobe. I will kill you."

"Aw, you say that all the time!" Naruto said, brushing the threat aside with a grin.

"And what happened after you showed up?" asked Ron excitedly. He, Harry, and Hermione were still waiting with rapt attention for the rest of the story.

Naruto laughed again. "Well, I spent a little while trying to protect Sakura, beat some sense into Sasuke, and keep the guy from killing us all. And then he aimed a curse at Sasuke, and Sasuke was still frozen, so I just kind of jumped in front of it and took it instead. I don't remember anything after that until we woke up in the hospital." He grinned and shrugged.

"Sakura yelled at me," said Sasuke quietly, barely audible over the wind. "She called me a coward, and coming from her… well, it was about the most insulted I'd ever been in my life. I snapped out of it and managed to push the Akatsuki member back. I almost had him beaten when he aimed a curse at Sakura. I jumped in front of it. I remember all the Akatsuki retreating after I went down; I'm pretty sure they thought they were leaving us for dead, but I was still conscious and in pain; maybe some lethal form of the Cruciatus. By that time, the rest of the school had already been destroyed. I remember Sakura taking care of us with as much of her Healing powers she knew until the headmistress found us and got us to the hospital."

The wind wailed in their ears as they reached the village. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were quiet for a few moments while Sasuke and Naruto shared a look. Naruto grinned. Sasuke's expression returned to neutral.

At length, Ron asked, "Why did they just leave Sakura? I mean, they might have left you two for dead, but what about her?"

Sasuke and Naruto shared another look, less pleased.

Naruto eventually shrugged and answered, "Maybe she was supposed to live to tell the tale. I dunno. None of us have really figured out why we're still alive."

That shut them up.

The five walked through the crowded streets, all huddled together against the wind except for Sasuke, who might have been strolling through the park on a sunny day in Fire Country. Only Naruto caught the slight tilt of his head that implied he had heard something unusual in the distance. He frowned at Sasuke, who gave him a swift 'later' look.

They stopped in Honeyduke's, the sweets shop, and found Slughorn. While he roped Harry into a discussion about his habit of scheduling Quidditch practices during his Slug Club dinners, Sasuke pulled Naruto aside and muttered,

"We're being followed. Not an Auror."

Naruto's eyes widened. He asked, "Shinobi or Death Eater?"

Sasuke scowled at his teammate, looking up from his casual observance of Blood Pops. "Dobe, if I knew, wouldn't I have told you instead of saying what it _wasn't_?" he snapped, and his irritable tone caught Hermione's attention.

She pried herself away from Slughorn and wandered over. "…Blood Pops, huh? I think those are for vampires."

Sasuke gave a vague nod and, once Naruto turned around to look at some sugar quills, gave her a small motion to follow him. Hermione's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but she followed him to another row of candy away from Naruto.

"What is it?" she asked, slightly suspicious but more curious.

"Naruto's birthday is in three days," said Sasuke quietly, feigning interest in some cockroach clusters when Naruto cast a suspicious glance their way. Hermione, following his example pretended to look interested in the grasshopper poppers next to them. Sasuke continued out of the corner of his mouth, "Sakura asked me to get him something for her. So, if you see me disappear when we leave, could you please try and distract him for me? I'll make it quick."

Hermione looked surprised but nodded. "Of course."

So, when they left Honeyduke's for the Three Broomsticks, Sasuke waited until Naruto seemed immersed in conversation with Harry and Ron, caught Hermione's eye, and headed back towards Honeyduke's. Out of eyesight, he sent a clone to the shop (Sakura really had asked him to get something) and doubled around to watch Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Naruto from behind. He opened his Sharingan.

It was easier to see through the raging sleet, but not by much. It proved one thing, however. No one else would be able to see their targets easily through this weather, either. So they had to be close. Sasuke squinted at the people roving around in Harry's vicinity. All regular students with nothing outstanding about their chakras. No genjutsus or henges…. Wizard, perhaps?

But there were no other presences. No invisibility or concealment spells….

But he knew they were being watched; the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end and his nerves felt fried. That always meant he was being watched. _But where were they?_

Sasuke felt his blood turn cold. It wasn't every day someone could fool the Sharingan. This wasn't good.

If he couldn't find their adversary first, he'd have to be prepared to fight at anytime. He released his clone, feeling a light package of sweets appear inside his robe pocket, and moved quickly to catch up with his charge. He nodded to Hermione, who had joined the boys' conversation at his disappearance, and she smiled, blushing slightly.

As the five found a table at the Three Broomsticks, Sasuke muttered to Naruto, "Be on guard."

"You couldn't find them?" Naruto hissed back, trying not to attract attention by looking surprised or yelling aloud. But he wanted to do both.

Sasuke gave an infinitesimal shake of his head.

Naruto gawked. Then he gulped. Harry, just noticing them, asked what was wrong. Naruto laughed a little too loudly, shook his head, and joined their conversation about Quidditch.

When he could ask without being noticed, Naruto muttered, "Are they in here now?"

Sasuke didn't answer immediately. His nerves still felt jittered, and the back of his neck prickled uneasily. When he was sure the trio was looking away, he switched on the Sharingan again and glanced around. Still nothing. "…I don't know. I think so, though."

Sasuke knew his own uncertainty unnerved Naruto more than if he had just said, 'Yes, and it's the entire Akatsuki.' Sasuke couldn't blame him. He was starting to feel the same way. He hadn't been fooled like this since before he first developed the Sharingan.

About an hour later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were ready to call it quits and head back to the castle. Naruto and Sasuke agreed reluctantly, neither eager to go out into the open, but Naruto just blamed it on the miserable weather aloud. They refastened their cloaks, scarves, and gloves and followed Katie Bell and a friend out of the pub.

As they walked down the High Street, Sasuke switched on his Sharingan whenever he could, scouring the mostly-deserted road for any signs of cloaked chakra or Dark magic. That was why, when Katie Bell leaned to the side to keep a package away from her friend, he saw the thrumming dark glow around the package. Dark magic. _Strong_ Dark magic. He glanced at Katie's head and noticed a strange absence of usual chakra movement- but telltale signs of genjutsu or mental magic. The blankness in her eyes solved the matter.

"Imperius Curse," he muttered then whipped out his wand like a kunai just as he saw Katie's hand about to touch a small rip in the package. "_Wingardium Leviosa_!"

The package shot out of her hands and hovered in midair. Katie Bell, her friend, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Naruto all turned to stare at him, bemused.

Their jaws dropped.

"Sharingan!" hissed Naruto frantically. "You forgot the-!"

"_STUPEFY_!" Harry bellowed, pointing his wand at Sasuke, but Sasuke repelled it with a quick flick of his own wand.

He blinked, letting the Sharingan fade into blue-black, but the damage was done.

"_Expelliarmus_!" Harry shouted.

Sasuke threw up a quick Shield Charm, and the spell bounced back to hit Ron, who had just drawn his own wand. It flew out of his hand and landed in a puddle behind him.

Hermione's Stunning spell came out of nowhere, miraculously nonverbal, but Naruto reacted faster even than Sasuke. "_Protego_!"

His Shield blew Harry, Ron, and Hermione back a few steps. The Stun flew into the sky harmlessly.

The Gryffindor trio gawked. Even Sasuke mentally admitted he was impressed with the raw strength of the spell – but mentally only.

Sasuke lowered his wand. "Please, let me explain before you try Stunning us again. It's not what you think."

"Yeah, right it isn't!" snapped Harry, not lowering his wand and eyeing Naruto's with caution. "Voldemort's the only person with red eyes! You can't fool me; I know what I saw!"

Ron and Hermione gasped, their eyes widening in shock and fear. Sasuke realized they must not have known Voldemort's eye color but had simply followed Harry's lead out of trust. He smirked. Kakashi would have approved of _that_ teamwork.

"So, what is it?" Harry continued fiercely as Ron edged towards his fallen wand. "Polyjuice potion? Trying to get close to me so you can kill me when I least suspect it? Well, this place is swarming with Aurors, and Dumbledore is just beyond those gates! You'll never-"

"Shut up and listen a minute, will you?" Naruto snapped irritably, rolling his eyes at the stupidity of the situation- which was saying something, in Sasuke's opinion. "Sasuke's not Voldemort-"

"If it were Polyjuice potion wearing off," Sasuke cut across his teammate, "why am I not becoming more and more like Voldemort? In fact, my eyes have returned to black without me doing anything."

The trio hovered uncertainly beneath that logic. Sasuke really hadn't moved a muscle besides shielding and lowering his wand.

"Now, will you listen to me?" asked Sasuke. When Harry eyed their wands again, he added, "Naruto and I will hand over our wands if it will make you listen."

Harry hesitated, but when Sasuke snatched Naruto's wand and held it out along with his own, he nodded and took them. "Alright," he said guardedly. "Start talking."

He passed their wands to Hermione, who took them as if they carried contagious diseases and stuck them in her bag. She put a sealing charm on the bag and looked at Sasuke nervously.

Sasuke sighed. "My name is still Sasuke Uchiha. I am not Lord Voldemort. My eyes were, indeed, red a few moments ago, but not because I sold my soul to the Dark arts or whatever the hell Voldemort did. It's a bloodline trait in the Uchiha clan called the Sharingan." He paused for a moment, wondering where to go from there. Then he said, "The Sharingan is unique to my family, so even though I've never seen Voldemort's eyes, I will show you mine again and you can compare them for yourself. I assure you, they will be quite different. I'm activating them now, so please don't Stun me out of surprise."

He activated his eyes again and turned them to Harry. He watched calmly as Harry's chakra fluxed faintly along with his surprise and racing thoughts. Ron and Hermione studied his eyes from their side vantages, and Naruto tapped his foot impatiently, eyeing Katie Bell and her friend curiously every few seconds.

Then Harry gave a brief nod. "Alright, then. You're not Voldemort. But why did you activate them a few seconds ago? Why did you charm Katie's package?"

"These eyes allow me to see magic in more detail than you can comprehend," said Sasuke. He accepted his wand back from Hermione and pocketed it conspicuously. "I heard Leanne say Katie was acting odd, and since Dumbledore has warned us multiple times about imposters, I activated my Sharingan to see if Katie was under some sort of spell. She is under the Imperius curse. They were arguing about that package, too, so I also checked it. It has a cursed object in it. One touch should prove deadly." He rolled his eyes and finished, "Now, if this interrogation is done, I suggest we release Katie of the spell and see if she remembers who put it on her, or who gave her that package."

In the confusion that followed, Naruto asked Sasuke quietly, "Think it was the person that was following us that cursed her?"

Sasuke frowned. He had thought about the possibility, but it wasn't adding up. If they were following Harry, then wouldn't the package have been for Harry? And if it was meant for Harry, why didn't Katie just turn around and hand it to him in the street? "No," he muttered at length. "I don't. This is too clumsy. If he can evade the Sharingan, he should be able to come up with a better trap than this."

Naruto began to nod in mindless agreement when he suddenly froze. "Ano, Sasuke…" he muttered, an anxious expression making its way onto his face. "If this person is evading the Sharingan… then he knows about the Sharingan. And if he knows about it… he's a shinobi. And if he's a shinobi…" he hesitated, and Sasuke suddenly realized where this was going. "…If he's a shinobi… then is he after Harry… or us?"

For the second time that day, Sasuke's blood ran cold. Naruto was right. The list of people that might intentionally and successfully evade the Sharingan was short: Hatake Kakashi. Might Gai. Akatsuki.

Of those, only Akatsuki had a reason to hide from Sasuke's Sharingan. And of Akatsuki… only Itachi and Kisame had a reason to follow them from the Hidden Continent… because the Nine-tails was Itachi's assignment.

Sasuke closed his eyes and, employing his eloquent knowledge of the English language, said, "Fuck."

Naruto, despite the severity of the situation, cackled.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

"Akatsuki? Are you sure?" gasped Sakura. She, Naruto, and Sasuke sat in a corner of the common room at one of those hours between night and dawn, the only time it was deserted.

"No," said Sasuke evenly. "But it makes sense. And of Akatsuki, it's probably Itachi and Kisame. Itachi claimed the Nine-tails."

Sakura fidgeted while Naruto simply stared off into space, his expression troubled.

Then Sakura said, "This is really bad. What if Akatsuki really does ally with Voldemort and go after Harry? Maybe in return for information on the castle's wards so they can get to Naruto. …I hate to say it, but we might need backup. We can't protect Harry from Voldemort and Akatsuki both… especially if we're targets ourselves."

Sasuke and Naruto frowned pensively.

At length, Naruto said, "Wouldn't calling in back-up blow our cover-story? We're supposed to be the only kids in our age group alive."

"The idiot has a point," muttered Sasuke. "I think we should wait until it's unavoidable, or at least until we have proof Akatsuki's here at all. It's possible I've overanalyzed the situation and it's simply a shinobi or wizard good at cloaking."

Sakura's brow furrowed. She was the team leader, they knew, so her opinion was really the only one that mattered… but she trusted her friends too much. Her leadership was little more than an open democracy.

At length, she sighed and nodded. "All right. We'll wait until they make a move, whoever they are. But if they so much as _breathe_ too close to Harry, I'm sending a Summon to Tsunade-sama for reinforcements."

"Right," said Naruto.

Sasuke gave a faint incline of his head and added, "In the meantime, Naruto, increase your number of scouting clones. I'll ask a few of my snake Summons to help as well. And be especially observant when you're in the forest. It would be the most strategic point for a shinobi to get through the wards."

"Hai," said Naruto. His eyes gleamed with determination. "Not even Akatsuki will be able to sneak up on us!"

"Right!" said Sakura, her eyes also developing the determined gleam.

"And Sakura," said Sasuke, ignoring the passion burning around him. "Do you think you can keep up a single clone to tail Malfoy? Harry seems certain that he's the one behind that cursed necklace."

Sakura looked surprised at the request but quickly nodded. "Oh- alright. Definitely. I'll send one to keep a watch for suspicious behavior."

Sasuke nodded. "Good." He vanished in a puff of smoke. Naruto and Sakura, after exchanging good nights, followed his example and released their own shadow clones.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Three days later, Harry noticed his new blonde housemate looking depressed as they headed down to breakfast. He frowned, wondering what could possibly be wrong this early in the morning. Though Naruto usually slept the latest of the Gryffindor boys, he always awoke bright and cheerful, as sunny as his hair color. So this morose, sagging boy trudging next to him was absolutely unprecedented.

"Hey, Naruto," he said. "What's wrong?"

Naruto glanced up, and Harry instantly noticed the usually sparkling blue eyes were dull and lifeless. "Huh? Oh. Oh, nothing, Harry-kun." He smiled, but it was obviously fake.

Harry squinted. "Right…."

He hung back slightly so that he was walking next to Sasuke and asked hesitantly (Sasuke, Harry and the others had noticed, was an awful morning person and tended to scare even his first period professors), "Did, uh, something happen last night or… something?"

Sasuke gave him a Look that instantly made Harry wish he'd just asked Sakura. But Sasuke was Naruto's best friend… or so Sakura led them to believe. If anyone would know what was wrong, he should… right?

"It's a very historic day in our village," he muttered at length, turning his scowl from Harry to the corridor in front of them. Hermione, Ron, Sakura, and Naruto were getting considerably farther ahead, no one noticing Harry and Sasuke lagging behind. "A lot of people were killed, including Naruto's parents." He was silent for a moment before adding, "It was also the day of his birth."

Harry's mouth fell into a comprehending 'o.' Sasuke rolled his eyes at the reaction.

At breakfast, Sakura presented Naruto with a nicely wrapped small package. Harry noticed with bemusement that Naruto had to blink several times in amazement before he took it.

"S-Sakura-chan," he stammered, holding it as if it was made of the most delicate and precious glass. "What-?"

"Happy birthday, silly," she said with a smile. Then she looked slightly embarrassed. "It's not much, though. Not like the things you send me for my birthdays."

Harry got the feeling he was missing something when Naruto flushed and rubbed the back of his neck, grinning.

As Naruto unwrapped the sweets from Honeyduke's, Ron said, "Happy birthday, mate. Sucks that we've got Snape today, though."

"Yeah, well," said Naruto, grinning honestly as he opened the variety bag of Honeyduke's bestsellers. He popped several in his mouth at once, ignoring breakfast, and said, "Arigato, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura brushed it aside, smiling and watching Naruto kindly. Then she said a little uncertainly, "I, um, also brought some candles. I thought we could light them by the lake in honor of the Fourth, since we can't exactly attend the festival this year…."

Naruto looked up and gaped at her. She cringed slightly under the look and seemed vaguely prepared to argue for her idea.

Harry interrupted whatever was going on by asking, "The fourth what?"

Sakura and Naruto turned their awkward struggle to him. Sakura took a moment before answering slowly, "You know how our magic school is in the middle of a magical village? Well, our headmasters are not only in charge of the school, but they also lead the village as a whole. The Fourth was the fourth leader of the school and village. When we were just babies- or, in Naruto's case, just born- he sacrificed his life to save our village from a very Dark adversary. Our village celebrates his victory and honors his sacrifice on this day." She looked back to Naruto and Sasuke and asked, "So, um, what do you say?"

There was silence. Sasuke sipped his pumpkin juice and stole Hermione's Prophet while she was distracted with the idea of their foreign festival. Then Naruto gave a strained smile and said, "If you want to, Sakura-chan."

While Hermione questioned Sakura on the ceremony itself with curious respect, Harry heard Sasuke mutter to Naruto, "You really are an idiot. You were so wrapped up in self-pity this morning you didn't even notice my gift right beside your bed."

Naruto promptly choked on whatever candy was in his mouth. "YOU GOT ME A PRESENT?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but even Harry had to admit he was surprised. Sasuke actually went out of his way to do something nice? Not that Sasuke and Harry didn't get along. They just had a mutual understanding that Sasuke was a bastard when confronted with stupidity. So long as Harry didn't ask stupid questions or behave like a moron, they got on quite well. But still, getting along wasn't the same as actually _being nice_.

"What is it, what is it?" demanded Naruto, bouncing up and down on the bench, looking ready to sprint all the way back to Gryffindor tower at a split second's notice.

Sasuke simply continued to read Hermione's commandeered paper. He sipped his pumpkin juice, but when Naruto nearly bounced into his lap, he scowled and snapped, "Moron! Why would I just tell you after I went through all the trouble of bullying a first year into wrapping it up?"

At Hermione's scandalized expression, Sakura laughed and said, "Relax, he's kidding. He just asked me to stick a bow on it or 'whatever it is you do to presents.'"

Hermione gave Sasuke a strange look at the quote and asked softly, "Does no one give you presents?"

Apparently Sasuke was tired of rolling his eyes so much so early in the morning, because he simply flipped to the next page of her paper and ignored her.

"I do, I do!" said Naruto, waving around his bag of sweets.

That warranted an eye-roll. "Dobe, you gave me a stick of chewing gum three years ago."

Naruto looked offended. "But it was your favorite flavor!"

"I don't even _like_ chewing gum."

Naruto scowled and grumbled as he returned to sorting through his candies.

Hermione was still frowning in concern, but at length, she pulled her bag onto her shoulder and stood. "C'mon, Sasuke. Ancient Runes. …And why do you always steal my paper?"

"Hn," said Sasuke as he folded the aforementioned paper up and retrieved his own bag.

A few minutes later, Harry, Ron, Naruto, and Sakura returned to the boy's dorm for their free period to see what the heartless bastard had gotten Naruto (Sakura wasn't talking, though she smiled knowingly the whole way).

The boys promptly died of Quidditch related heart attacks. Again.

"THAT BASTARD GOT YOU A _FIREBOLT_?" Ron bellowed, grabbing his head with both hands in shock. Ron and Sasuke, Harry had noted, did not quite get along. Ron frequently stuck his foot in his mouth, something Harry was so used to he barely even noticed anymore, but Sasuke retorted brutally to the stupidity. Harry and Hermione had had to stop Ron from hexing 'Teme' a few times for particularly nasty or creative insults. That, and Ron never quite got over every defeat in Wizard's chess.

"Huh," said Harry, eyeing the familiar model fondly. "I guess he either really is your friend, or he's put a hex on it for a good laugh when you get on."

"Don't let Hermione hear you say that," Ron warned darkly. "I haven't forgotten third year."

Harry winced, and Naruto eyed the broomstick cautiously.

"Actually…" muttered Naruto, "that does sound like something Sasuke would do…." He stared at the sacred broomstick of broomsticks and then sighed heavily. "Well, shit."

**

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! It's still Friday… kind of. Sorry for the delay. I added the flashback at the beginning to make up for its tardiness. And, for the record, that wasn't the Kakashi involvement I hinted at. He'll show up later… or just late, you know, as usual. ;) **

**Anyways, thank you all my fantastic reviewers! You guys make me want to write this story 24/7. Please let me know what you think about this newest installment. =D**


	7. Transformations

**Chapter 6: Transformations**

"Oi, bastard," said Naruto as he, Harry, Ron, and Sakura joined the line outside D.A.D.A., "did you curse it?"

Sasuke and Hermione looked up, one bored, the other perplexed.

"Dobe, if I wanted a laugh at your expense, all I'd have to do was string you upside down in front of the class and watch you squirm. Not spend who-knows-how-many hundred galleons on a flying broomstick."

"Hundred gal-" stuttered Hermione, eyes widening as she realized what was going on. "You got Naruto a _Firebolt_?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Naruto likes flying. Those two said it was the best." He nodded towards Harry and Ron, who gawked at his simple reasoning.

"Blimey, mate," said Ron hoarsely. "You must be richer than Malfoy to throw away four hundred galleons like that!"

"Sole heir to the Uchiha clan isn't just a fancy name, baka."

"Ah, that's right," drawled a voice from behind them, and the Gryffindor trios turned around to find Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle approaching. Malfoy looked particularly smug as he eyed his new great rival. "The Pureblood Uchihas. I did ask my father about that. And I know all about you, now, Uchiha. Your whole family was supposedly magical geniuses, weren't they? I heard your _darling_ older brother graduated your academy by age _seven_. Captain of some elite Auror squad by thirteen. And here _you_ are… sixteen and still fumbling around with commoners and Mudbloods."

Harry, Ron, and Naruto had their wands out and were gripping them with white knuckles as they scowled at the Slytherin on Sasuke's behalf. Malfoy ignored them. He leaned against the wall adjacent to the Gryffindors, only watching Sasuke, whose expression was unnaturally neutral. Malfoy seemed to be waiting for something, Harry noticed. Some kind of reaction. Maybe he had found out about the Uchiha Sharingan was waiting for a glimpse of it?

"So, if you're the weakest of the lot of them," continued Malfoy smugly, "then how is it you're the only survivor? Were you not _worth_ killing? Or did you run away, like a bloody coward, while your family was being killed?"

Finally, Sasuke reacted. His wand was in his hand and pointed directly at Malfoy's throat faster than Harry's eyes could follow. His voice was colder than a Dementor's breath as he murmured, "One more word, Malfoy. One more word and you will not wake up tomorrow morning."

"No, he's the one that's not worth killing, Sasuke," growled Naruto, stepping between them while keeping his glare trained on Malfoy. "As a thank you for the Firebolt, let me take care of this snot-nosed little prissy brat for you."

"I think this is a little more personal than that, Naruto," said Sasuke, not lowering his wand.

Naruto turned his glare on Sasuke, looking annoyed. Then he 'hmph'ed and said, "Fine, then. Together?"

Before Malfoy had a chance to realize Sasuke's answer, the two foreign boys had jabbed their wands in an identical spell. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were ripped off their feet and hung upside down in the rafters, swinging back and forth as though by an invisible rope. Their robes fell over their faces, revealing their pale legs and, in all three cases, silk underpants.

Harry and Ron, caught off guard as well, roared with laughter. So did the other Sixth years queued outside Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Hermione, however, moaned weakly, "No magic in the corridors…!"

"I'll get you for this, Uchiha!" shouted Malfoy, attempting to right himself in the air, but it was useless. His wand fell from his robes and clattered on the floor below them, and his horrified expression made Harry and Ron laugh even harder. "This isn't over!"

Naruto grinned at the lame threat, and Sasuke frowned wryly. "Of course this isn't over," he said calmly. "You just insulted my honor and compared me to Itachi in a single breath. You think I'll let it go just by stringing you up by your feet?"

"Sasuke…" moaned Sakura, looking between him, Malfoy, and Snape's classroom door apprehensively.

"Relax," Sasuke drawled. "I'll keep it legal…."

"Legal or not," drawled another voice from behind them, and Sakura and Hermione gasped. Snape stopped behind Sasuke, his arms crossed and scowling. "Fighting is not tolerated at Hogwarts, Mr. Uchiha."

"This isn't fighting…" said Sasuke, not turning around. He swished his wand at Malfoy and watched with detached interest as Malfoy squealed and began to transform. "This is transfiguration practice…."

Two seconds later, a silver catfish flopped to the ground and writhed on the floor, unable to breathe.

Sasuke frowned. "They say human to fish transfigurations are the hardest, next to birds, but that was actually relatively easy…."

"UCHIHA!" Snape snapped out of his stupor and pointed at Malfoy irately, his face an ugly red. "HE'S – A – _FISH_!"

Sasuke's frown tightened in annoyance, and Harry was reminded forcibly of McGonagall and her thinning lips. "Oh, alright." He swished his wand again and conjured a bowl of water, which he levitated the fish into.

Snape's face turned the same livid white Harry had seen coming out of the pensive from his worst memory. And speaking of that memory, maybe it wasn't good that Sasuke and Naruto had just turned Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle upside down revealing their boxers like James and Sirius had done to Snape….

"Uchiha. Reverse the spell. And go see Dumbledore. Immediately," Snape ground out through teeth clenched so tight Harry could hear them grating from several feet away.

Sasuke considered it, his expression as bored as ever. Then he said, "I think I'll go see Professor Dumbledore first. He might be able to instill some sense of contrition in me. Then I'll undo the spell when I actually feel sorry for it."

Without a single glance at Snape, he turned and walked down the corridor and out of sight.

For a moment, Harry, Snape, and the students stared after him in complete shock. Snape roused from it first, and his next reaction was utter rage.

"Class. Dismissed," he snarled, flicking his wand and releasing Crabbe and Goyle from the rafters. They fell in undignified lumps. "Granger. Take Mr. Malfoy to Professor McGonagall to reverse the spell at once. And inform your fellow Gryffindor he has a month's worth of detentions with me."

Snape turned on his heel and stormed back into the classroom.

As soon as he was out of sight, Naruto burst into laughter. Dean, Seamus, Neville, and several Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs joined him. Sakura sighed and put a hand over her face in defeat.

While Hermione went to pick up the bowl and Malfoy, who was flopping about in the shallow water twitchily, Harry asked in amazement, "Did he do that often at your school?"

"Prank students, defy teachers, and walk off with a shrug?" cackled Naruto. "Hell no. Mr. Perfect never did a damn thing wrong. I've always told him he needed to lighten up. That was _great_!"

"But Professor Dumbledore will be very upset with him!" said Hermione, holding the clear bowl up to her eyes and examining the transfiguration work. "He said that was his first try on this spell; he knows how terribly wrong human transfiguration spells can go!"

"But the catfish is flawless, isn't it?" asked Sakura grimly, also coming to inspect the work. "He shouldn't have done it, no. But Malfoy was never in any real danger. He would have been if he'd said another word, though, so I suppose Sasuke did him a favor turning him into something that couldn't talk."

"And Sasuke won't care about a damn thing Dumbledore will say to him," added Naruto. "Once, our headmistress screamed at him for three days straight, and I don't think a single word got through to him."

He, Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Sakura began their walk towards McGonagall's classroom while the other sixth years dispersed, still talking and laughing about the amazing feats of the gorgeous foreign boy.

"So, Itachi was the name of Sasuke's brother?" asked Hermione, her expression cloudy.

Sakura nodded with a slightly guilty look, Harry noticed with confusion. "…Hai."

"So Itachi graduated from your magic academy when he was seven?" Hermione continued. "How old did he _start_?"

"I… don't know," said Sakura. "It's not exactly something Sasuke talks about."

"He flew through the academy in a year," said Naruto, finally sobering up. His expression was the grimmest. "And he was still first in his class."

"And he became an Auror captain by _thirteen_?" said Ron. "_Really_? And I thought _I_ had some overachieving brothers."

"…Yeah…" said Naruto, uncomfortable.

Harry noticed his unease and asked grimly, "They were close, then?"

Naruto looked even more uncomfortable. "Well, Sasuke thought so. It was, uh, a bit of a lie, though, I guess…."

"Naruto," said Sakura in a warning tone. "I don't think Sasuke would want us to talk about this."

"Why?" asked Harry, eyeing them with more confusion than suspicion. "What happened?"

Naruto, however, was talking to Sakura with pouting eyes. "But that Malfoy kid's going to open his big fat mouth again, and Sasuke will kill him, and they won't have any idea what's going on! And what could it hurt? Everyone in Konoha knows what happened!"

"Have you ever thought maybe Sasuke likes it here where people don't know?"

"He doesn't care! He doesn't care about anything – except killing Itachi!"

The bowl Malfoy was twitching around in promptly smashed on the floor. "_WHAT_?"

"NARUTO, YOU _IDIOT_!"

"Oh!" Hermione conjured a new bowl, filled it with water, and plopped Malfoy in by his tail. He swished about angrily.

"I thought he said he was the last of his family!" said Harry.

"Why would he want to kill his own brother?" demanded Ron.

Hermione gasped, "It was… _his brother_?"

Sakura growled at Naruto, who laughed nervously and backed up a few steps.

At length, Sakura sighed and muttered, "It was Itachi. He killed their entire clan. Over one hundred members. And then he left the village and joined Akatsuki."

"Oh, my God!" gasped Hermione. "That's _awful_! Why would he _do_ such a thing?"

"To 'measure his capacity,'" mumbled Naruto, his shoulders slumping again. "Just to see if he could."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared in amazed horror. Even Sakura looked surprised at this news.

"But… he didn't kill Sasuke," said Hermione quietly. "So… did he love him too much?"

Naruto laughed bitterly, and Harry was struck with the wrongness of the sound, especially coming from Naruto. But all this talk of death today…. Apparently there was a much darker side to all of the foreigners than they had shown so far. "No, Hermione. He told Sasuke he wasn't worth killing. He told him to run and cling to life. So, you see… Malfoy really is lucky to be alive right now. Not only did he compare Sasuke to the man that betrayed him and killed his whole family… he practically quoted Itachi from the darkest day of Sasuke's life." He laughed that so-wrong laugh again and said, "I never would have thought Sasuke had this much self-control! Even I would have come close to killing this bastard!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't see the humor in any of this. Hermione and Sakura both looked close to tears. Ron looked pained, probably thinking of his own large family, and Harry felt such a strong sense of familiarity it hurt. Sasuke's family had been betrayed. He remembered finding out Peter Pettigrew, his father's friend, had betrayed his parents, causing their deaths and Sirius' imprisonment. He remembered how close he had come to killing Pettigrew for that disgusting betrayal… and Pettigrew wasn't even Harry's friend, let alone his blood brother. And Pettigrew hadn't said Avada Kedavra with his own wand, like Sasuke's brother had.

If Pettigrew _had _done the deed himself… screw Voldemort. Screw the Dementor's Kiss. Harry would have killed Pettigrew that night.

If Harry were in Sasuke's place… Itachi wouldn't stand a _chance_.

"So that's the one man he wants to kill, is it?" said Harry.

Sakura and Naruto nodded blankly.

Harry nodded in return. "Right. Good." When Ron and Hermione turned shocked faces to him, he continued ruthlessly, "Sounds like me and Voldemort, doesn't it? Except Voldemort didn't betray my mum and dad before he killed them. He just killed them. I hope Itachi gets what's coming to him. Just like Voldemort."

Ron and Hermione shared concerned glances, and Naruto and Sakura looked grimly agreeing.

The rest of the trip to the transfiguration classroom was silent. Hermione knocked on the door, propping Malfoy's bowl on her hip, while the others waited across the hallway.

McGonagall answered it looking harried. "Yes, Miss Granger? I am in the middle of class."

"Um, Professor Snape said this was urgent," said Hermione, and she presented Catfish Malfoy. "This is Draco Malfoy, ma'am."

McGonagall stared. Her mouth slid open slightly. "Draco… Malfoy?"

"Sasuke Uchiha transfigured him a few minutes ago, ma'am."

That snapped McGonagall back into Deputy Headmistress, severe teacher mode. "Right. Are there any spellwork errors I must work around, Miss Granger? Did you see the transformation?"

"It was textbook precision, Professor."

Harry couldn't be sure, as was usually the case with McGonagall, but he thought she looked impressed for a second. Then she waved her wand in a complex motion and chanted a short string of Latinate words, a few seconds longer than any spell they had worked with so far. Within seconds, they watched the catfish transform into a soaking wet Malfoy, like watching a video of Darwinism evolution in fast-forward.

"I'll get him!" Malfoy raged immediately, pointing dramatically at Naruto, sending water flying from his sopping sleeve. "You tell your friend! This isn't the end of this!"

"Yes, yes, Mister Malfoy," said McGonagall. "Has Professor Snape already taken points from Gryffindor for what I'm assuming was an incident of magic in the corridors?"

"…No, Professor," said Hermione dutifully.

"Well, fifteen points from Gryffindor. And thirty points to Gryffindor for a Master level transfiguration spell."

The Gryffindors and Slytherin gaped, but before Malfoy could begin raging anew, McGonagall returned to her classroom, snapping the door shut behind her.

After Malfoy stormed off, leaving puddles of water in his wake, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Naruto, and Sakura headed back to Gryffindor tower to work on homework.

Not ten minutes later, Sasuke joined them, looking as bored as ever.

"What'd Dumbledore say?" asked Naruto immediately, dropping his quill and Herbology essay.

"Very little," said Sasuke, taking the seat next to him on the sofa. He sat for a second, seeming to think of something to do, while Naruto continued,

"So you can quote it to us exactly, then, right?" Indeed, Sakura, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were listening in.

"Naturally," said Sasuke. He picked up Naruto's essay and scanned over it. After two seconds, he picked up Naruto's quill and began correcting it.

Naruto scowled. "You're not even in Herbology! And what'd he say, already?"

"Idiot, I know about plants from Potions."

"Did he lecture you on good and evil? Congratulate you on self-control? Give you detentions? Oh, yeah. You got a month's worth of detentions with Snape."

"…How the hell did you mistake Devil's Snare for _petunias_?" said Sasuke, his expression disgusted as he corrected the violation. While Naruto glared, he added quietly, "He told me he was there if I ever wanted to talk. And he apologized for Malfoy's lack of tact; seemed to think it reflected badly on Hogwarts and Europe in general."

As Naruto, Sakura, Harry, Ron, and Hermione made understanding expressions, Sasuke frowned and tilted his head sideways, observing something in the margins of Naruto's paper.

"Dobe… is that a tree chewing on my head?"

Naruto blinked and, once he realized what Sasuke was talking about, puffed up in indignation. "What? No! Look –" he leaned over Sasuke's shoulder so he could point out parts of his doodles, "That's you, and you're being attacked by this massive Giant that Hagrid has hidden in the Forest. And over here you're screaming," – Naruto put on a ridiculously high, squeaky voice – "'_Ah, Naruto-sama, save me! I'm too weak to defend myself! Ahhh!_' So, over here, I show up in a blaze of glory – and there's Sakura-chan swooning in the background – and say," – his voice went several octaves lower than normal – "'Fear not, Sasu-chan, for the greatest wizard in Japan is here!' And there's me tackling Grawp to the ground, and there's me patting him on the head and telling him to be a good boy… and there's you and Sakura-chan bowing to my awesomeness! Pretty cool, huh?" He grinned happily at his teammate.

Harry, who had been watching Sasuke's eyes getting narrower and narrower as the story continued, particularly twitching at the 'Sasu-chan' part, pitied Naruto for what he assumed would be another Draco Malfoy reenactment.

Sasuke turned that narrow, narrow look onto Naruto, who amazingly didn't crumble.

"Naruto." Sasuke's voice was so low, the only reason Harry could hear it was through the louder cutting malice. "You'd better start running."

Naruto laughed nervously. When Sasuke gave a pointed look to Naruto's elbows, which were still propped up against Sasuke's shoulders, due to his leaning over him to point out the pictures, Naruto quickly distanced himself. He gave some more nervous laughter.

Sasuke shoved Naruto's essay back at him. "Congratulations. You just volunteered yourself for my sparring partner tonight."

"Really?" Naruto demanded, suddenly grinning and sitting up straight. "YATTA! I haven't had a chance to spar since we got here!"

"Don't get excited. I'm going to kick your ass into the fucking ground, idiot."

"Spar?" repeated Ron, frowning. "You mean duel?"

"Of course," said Sasuke coldly. "Are not the words interchangeable?"

Ron didn't have the guts to contradict him.

At length, Hermione spoke up. "McGonagall gave you fifteen points for the transfiguration. Thirty, originally, but she took off another fifteen for using it on a student. We're not supposed to get into inter-species human transfigurations unless we're pursuing a Master in the subject."

Sasuke didn't respond. He crossed his arms and stared into the fire, going into brooding mode.

"But you're interested in Defense Against the Dark Arts, right?"

"Are you getting to a point?" he snapped.

Hermione hesitated. The others looked at her, wondering the same thing. It was obvious she wanted to talk about the Itachi revelation, but Sasuke was a pretty intimidating character at the moment. But Hermione was a Gryffindor for a reason. She let out a breath and said bluntly, "You could take your N.E.W.T.s right now and graduate early, like Itachi, but you haven't. Why? It's obvious you want to be just as good as him."

The room froze in silence.

Sasuke stared. Then he turned to Naruto. His glare pierced the blond like ice-cold chidori needles. "She's speaking about Itachi in present tense," said Sasuke slowly, stonily. "Why, I wonder, would she assume my brother is alive?"

Naruto covered his head with his Herbology essay as if it had magical shielding properties. "IT SLIPPED, I SWEAR!"

Sasuke scowled and turned away, glaring off into the distance. Then he snapped, "I do not want to be just like Itachi. I want to surpass him."

"Damn, mate, he was an Auror captain by thirteen," pointed out Ron. "You can't beat that. You're already sixteen!"

Sasuke sent him the frozen chidori glare, and the redhead shriveled like a salted slug beneath it.

"How much older is he than you?" murmured Hermione, ignoring Ron's whimper.

Sasuke scowled even darker. "This is none of your business. _Any_ of yours." He added, turning the glare to Harry, Ron, Sakura and Naruto as well. "Never, in my _life_, have I met people so prying."

While the Golden Trio looked moderately ashamed of themselves, and Sakura looked upset, Naruto wasn't having that shit.

His fear forgotten, he had grabbed the front of Sasuke's robes and ripped the boy forward so that their noses were centimeters apart. They glared and scowled to each of their best ability for an intense thirty seconds while the others stared in surprise. Naruto, Harry had to admit, was downright fearless.

And then Naruto said, "Goddammit, you bastard, of course it's my business! I couldn't be more involved if I were your identical fucking twin! So stop being such a drama queen all the time and get used to the idea that me and Sakura are your friends!"

If possible, Sasuke's glare intensified. Harry was pretty sure people nearby were about to start dropping dead from the pure acidic radiation.

Then Sasuke pulled his robes free, stood up, and stalked out of the tower.

There was silence. Eventually, Sakura sighed sadly, but Naruto just continued to glare after him.

Ron whistled. "You have one screwed up friendship."

"SHUT UP!" Both Naruto and Sakura yelled it.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione shared bemused looks. Sasuke had just told these two to stay out of his business, like they weren't special to him at all, and yet they were so adamant about their friendship. What was holding these three together so tightly? Why did they constantly insist on being called friends when they clearly couldn't stand each other- or, at least Sasuke couldn't stand _them_?

As if reading their thoughts, Sakura said, "You just don't understand. And it's okay. We don't expect you to." Without another word, she returned to her own Herbology essay.

The rest of the day passed in relative silence. Sasuke didn't show up for the rest of their classes, and Naruto and Sakura didn't make a scene about it. He skipped lunch and supper and was only seen heading towards the Astronomy tower near curfew. He wasn't back by the time Harry, Ron, and Naruto went to bed.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Harry blinked awake slowly to the sound of thrashing and hard breathing. He frowned, still half-asleep, noting that the dorm was still black in pre-dawn night. He started to sit up and see what the commotion was when he heard a soft voice.

"Naruto. Wake up."

Ah. So Naruto was just having a bad dream.

And Sasuke was back from astronomy.

He heard the tell-tale gasp of someone jolting from sleep like a drowning man gulping his first breath of air. Naruto's voice asked groggily, "Wass goin' on?"

"Just a nightmare, dobe," said Sasuke softly, clearly not wanting to disturb the sleepers.

"…Sasuke?"

"No, the tooth fairy."

There was a second of silence and then a slightly breathless snicker. "So I was right in convincing Ino you were a fairy, then."

"Moron."

For a few moments, the only sounds were the slight creak of a bed and rustle of covers- Naruto lying back down, maybe, and the sounds of curtains moving- Sasuke probably preparing to go to bed. Harry could feel himself begin to drift off again when Naruto murmured,

"You know… I wonder if I look like my parents, like you look like your brother…" Harry couldn't tell if he was speaking to Sasuke or himself. His voice had taken on a distant, quieter quality. Suddenly, Harry felt very indecent for listening in on this. He wondered if Sasuke felt the same. "I was just dreaming about them. Isn't that stupid? I don't even know if that was what they really looked like. But it still hurts when they disappear in the Kyuubi's fire."

There was silence, stretching the longest so far. Sasuke didn't move. Then Naruto whispered, "I think I would want revenge on my family, too, Sasuke. I understand that much. But their killer… I treat like a houseguest. Sometimes I want to kill it so much… but every beat of my heart keeps it alive, too. I can't have the closure you will when you kill Itachi. For me… it'll never be over so long as I'm alive."

Finally Sasuke sat down on his bed. Harry heard him sigh heavily. Harry wondered what the hell Naruto was talking about. The same 'Kyuubi' Hermione had on her list? It didn't sound like a Dark mental curse. It sounded like a _living being_. A murderer. Inside of Naruto.

"Naruto…" Sasuke sighed at length.

"…Eh?"

Sasuke didn't speak for a moment. Then he murmured, "I always figured Itachi and I would kill each other. …I've never expected to live past my revenge…."

"But?" Naruto sounded worried.

"But, if you're going to go suicidal over the Kyuubi, maybe I need to stick around a little longer." He said it like it was supposed to be a joke, but there was no mistaking the seriousness of it.

Naruto cackled. "Yes. My master plan is working."

Sasuke's bed creaked and the curtains drew closed.

"Hey!" said Naruto indignantly, forgetting about the sleeping dorm mates. "Don't you want to know what my master plan is, you bastard?"

"If you planned it, it's probably stupid. Don't waste your breath or my time, idiot."

Harry could practically hear Naruto's scowl. Or maybe he was growling. Either way, Naruto threw something, which bounced off Sasuke's curtains with a dulled thud.

The dorm fell quiet again, but Harry couldn't sleep for several long minutes. He prayed he would remember this when he woke so he could discuss it with Ron and Hermione. As much as he hated it, he thought it was about time to check the library for this 'Kyuubi' thing.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

"But I did that weeks ago!" said Hermione when Harry explained the new information and his suggestion. "But it must be a Japanese word, and I can't read kanji. If it's written in English, it must be the translated name. I don't know how to find it!"

So Hermione continued her efforts to search, and Harry and the boys got serious about Quidditch. The first match was fast approaching, and Harry was positive they had a team that would flatten Slytherin. It had truly been a stroke of genius to put Naruto on a Firebolt. His speed and grace, combined with Sasuke's strategic aiming and maneuvering made their Chasers untouchable. The Chasers themselves worked well together, just as good as Angelina and Alicia. And Harry was sure he could beat Malfoy any time, any day when it came to Seeking.

Ron was the only problem. As the game drew nearer and nearer, his flying became more and more inconsistent, as did his attitude. Finally, when his Keeping became so erratic that Harry was sure he was about to punch an incoming Demelza Robins in the face, two bludgers came out of nowhere and knocked him and his broom several feet to the side.

"OW!" Ron bellowed, clutching his side, where one of the bludgers had hit. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT FOR?"

He flailed accusingly at Sasuke and Naruto, both of whom still had their bats raised from the hits. Sasuke glared coldly, but Naruto's expression was outraged.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" Naruto roared right back. "YOU WERE ABOUT TO HIT YOUR OWN _TEAMMATE_, YOU IMBICILE!"

"YOU JUST HIT ME, AND _I'M_ YOUR TEAMMATE, TOO, MORON!"

One of the bludgers had found its way back to Sasuke, who hit it right back at Ron. Ron nearly fell off his broom.

"ENOUGH!" shouted Harry, coming back down from his search up high. "Sasuke, Naruto, Ron, cut it out! This isn't helping the team!"

"If we can knock some sense into him, it is," said Sasuke coldly. "His nerves are about to turn the entire team against him."

"Well, that's not your call," retorted Harry, sticking up for Ron even though he personally agreed with the Asian. Ron's Keeping was getting so erratic, he hadn't saved a goal all practice and was getting more and more violent with his attempts. He was sure Ron had been a split second away from decking Demelza and enraging the other Chasers. Ginny looked particularly ferocious. "Alright, everyone, back to practice. No more violence, _please_."

So, naturally, that was when Sasuke slumped like a marionette whose strings had been cut. He slipped off his broom, out cold, and Naruto barely had time to speed down and catch him before his own face whitened.

Harry felt it, too. His breath was ice cold, and his chest felt constricted and heavy. Everything was cold, so cold he might have been drowning in it. Distantly, he could hear screaming….

About a dozen of them were gliding towards the Quidditch pitch from the Forbidden Forest. In the gathering dusk, they looked like mere shadows against the already shady grass. But their eerie glide and frosty wake was unmistakable. Dementors.

Naruto crashed into the ground, and he and Sasuke lay in a heap of limbs, both unconscious.

"TO THE GROUND!" Harry bellowed, whipping out his wand. His team, already ashen faced, hastened to obey. They landed roughly. Demelza stumbled over to check Sasuke and Naruto while Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Katie Bell turned to face the oncoming Dementors, their wands drawn.

The Weasleys and Katie knew the Patronus Charm from last year's D.A. meetings, but against the real dementors, Harry suddenly felt alone.

"_Expecto Patronum_!" shouted Ron and Katie, emitting faint puffs of silvery stuff. "_EXPECTO PATRONUM_!"

The dementors barely paused before brushing off the glowing smoke. Harry felt his breath becoming ragged with the cold. His knees felt weak, and the screaming in his ears was getting louder. He forced that thought aside brutally.

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM_!" bellowed Harry and Ginny together, their stances solid. Their Patronuses were more defined than Ron's and Katie's, but the quickly approaching dementors only halted briefly before the silvery shapes dissolved. They advanced again, but the four Gryffindors roared together, drawing on each others' courage, "_EXPECTO PATRONUM_!"

Four creatures burst forth towards the dementors, roaring with clear white light. Harry's stag, Ron's terrier, Ginny's lion, and Katie's rabbit charged, and Harry felt himself sinking to his knees along with the others, exhausted, as the dementors fled back to the forest.

His heart pounded in his ears. Distantly, he could make out the harsh pants from his teammates as they, too, tried to process what had just happened. Harry squinted after the dementors, but his vision was becoming hazy.

And then his heart stopped.

The dementors vanished in the shadows of the forest, but just in front of the tree line stood two different figures. They didn't move as they stared out to the Quidditch Pitch. And one stared with red eyes.

He didn't know when it happened, but he was back on his feet, wand clenched in one fist, sprinting towards the figures, blood roaring in his ears, his heart rate deafening. Then his foot caught something hard and invisible, and he lurched forward, crashing into the grass, still several dozen meters from the forest's edge. He heard people behind him yelling, but he couldn't decipher what. He stumbled back to his feet, not allowing himself a moment's hesitation- but the figures were gone. Vanished with the dementors.

He stopped, panting, his heart still burning blood through his chest and head, and tried to figure out what had happened. Voldemort? At Hogwarts? _Where did he go?_

"Harry, are you alright?" Harry felt a hand rest on his shoulder, and he looked up to find Dumbledore watching him seriously.

"Yes, sir," he panted, slowly regaining his senses. "What happened? Voldemort-"

"No, I do not believe that was the Dark Lord," Dumbledore cut across smoothly, though his expression was still troubled. He was silent for a moment, and Harry could see the hurricane of thoughts swarming through the headmaster's eyes. After a moment, he said, "And what happened to Misters Uzumaki and Uchiha?"

For a second, Harry blanked on the names. Then he said, "Oh! There were dementors, and they passed out. Are they- are they not awake, yet?"

The headmaster and student looked back to the Quidditch team. Naruto and Sasuke were still unconscious, though someone had untangled them and laid them side by side. Harry frowned. Whenever he passed out from dementors, he usually woke up as soon as the things were gone.

Harry started towards them, but Dumbledore held him back with a touch. "Harry. Before we head back into the friendly fray, I have a small request to make of you."

Harry's shoulders twitched back almost defiantly, but he asked unenthusiastically, "Don't go charging recklessly into the forest after someone I suspect to be Lord Voldemort?"

Dumbledore smiled, and his blue eyes twinkled even in the darkening light. "Well, that might be wise for future reference, but no, that is not my request." His eyes trailed back to Naruto and Sasuke, and he said, "I would like you to teach them the Patronus Charm, if you do not mind. It seems you taught Mr. and Miss Weasley and Miss Bell splendidly, if I do say so myself. But I believe now that the enemy knows this weakness, our foreign friends will be subjected to it again, and it is always best to be prepared."

"Oh," said Harry again, surprised. "Er, yeah, okay. But why do you think they'll-"

"That is not my place to say, Harry," said Dumbledore. "Now, I believe, we can deliver them to the hospital wing, where Miss Haruno will have an excellent opportunity to attack her friends – with Healing magic, hopefully."

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the tardiness… again…. I had to do some incredible FF net acrabatics to get this to upload at all. Anyways, I promise there will be more Sakura next chapter: she'll be in awesome Healer/medic mode, too! Not quite 'smash boulders with my bare hands' but what's the difference, _really_? Haha… anyway… please review! I went through so many versions of this chapter, I'm kind of uncertain about its quality after all the copying and pasting and snipping and embellishing….**

**Just a little forewarning, I may change this story's summary soon. I never stick with the same one for long. So don't freak out if you see its title and author with a different summary: it's the same story!**


	8. Memories

**Warning: if you're not up to date with Itachi's "real" life, then spoilers are going to start now.**

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* * *

Chapter 7: Memories**

Over and over and over and over. Sasuke opened his eyes and saw white. Vaulted ceiling. Soft bed. Hospital. He blinked and there it was. Just behind his eyelids. Over and over and over and over and over and over…. White was red, vaulted ceiling was a splattered floor and piled bodies. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. Like Naruto stared at the sky when he realized his best friend really wanted to kill him. Sad. Such sadness. Complete surrender to sorrow. Like Sakura, stepping out of the shadows to stand in front of him That Night. Sasuke closed his eyes. He couldn't watch the ceiling like Naruto's world collapsing around him, like Sakura finding out the true meaning of abandonment. And behind his eyelids, again… _Run. Run, and cling to life. __**Hatred**__._

Sasuke opened his Sharingan and the vaulted ceiling pulsed with light green and blue magic. It had absorbed healing magic. A lot of it. He glanced down at his feet and noticed his own dark purple chakra swirling and flickering violently. He was unstable, emotional.

He closed his eyes and tried to ignore his mother's quiet gasp as the blade slid through her. He tried to ignore the way his father's knees hit the floor with a solid, final _thunk_. Over and over in his ears, resonating in the hollowness of his chest. Cold, empty chest. _Gasp. Thunk. Gasp. Thunk_.

Meditate. Fix it. You're on a mission. Don't fall apart.

Don't fall apart.

Like Itachi, looking back on his little brother and his dead family with tears spilling silently down his face.

_What?_

Sasuke sat up bolt right, and he heard gasps around him.

Itachi… was crying?

He frowned, opened his Sharingan again, and closed his eyes, turning his Sharingan inward. He brought forth the memory again: Itachi. He was running. Why? Sasuke was chasing him- with the Sharingan, one tomoe awakened. In the moonlight- it was a full moon- Itachi looked back at his furious and devastated brother, and the pale light glittered on his cheeks. Yes. Itachi was crying. The he turned and disappeared into the night.

Sasuke's chakra was unstable, attempting to fix him, but it didn't indicate any sort of genjutsu.

The memory was real.

Sasuke let himself fall back into his pillows with a faint whoosh of breath.

_Why_… was Itachi crying? And had Sasuke really awakened his own Sharingan that young?

"Sasuke? Say something, please!" Sakura demanded, her voice breaking through his astonishment. He opened his eyes and saw her erratically swirling green chakra. She was distressed, practically out of her mind, but she held her shoulders square and her lips a tight line. Behind her, Harry, Ron, and Hermione hovered, their blue chakras steady with just a few fulgurations reacting to their thoughts.

He released his Sharingan and blinked a few times, absorbing the change. "You're annoying." His voice was scratchy but thankfully emotionless.

It was a sign of how worried Sakura had been that she simply smiled in relief. Usually, she would be shocked and immediately turn inward in speculation.

"Dementors?" he asked, his voice still betraying none of his emotions.

It was Harry who nodded. "Yeah. About a dozen of them. Ron, Ginny, Katie, and I ran them off with Patronuses." He hesitated and added, "Actually, Dumbledore asked me to teach you guys how to perform the charm. I taught it to a certain club last year, so I guess I have enough experience with teaching it."

Ron rolled his eyes and added, "And he's used it to run off over a hundred at once and saved me and Hermione's souls, so you know he's good at it."

Sasuke scowled inwardly but kept his expression blank. He had attempted the Patronus Charm whilst in Voldemort's apprenticeship. It was the one Charm he couldn't copy with perfect or near-perfect results. He couldn't get anything, actually. Some instruction might be welcome, especially if they had to fight dementors to protect their charge again. "We would appreciate that," he said and then froze. We. _Naruto_!

He twisted around to find the hospital bed beside his also occupied. Naruto was out cold, his usually tanned face whiter than Sasuke's. His brow was wrinkled slightly, showing his emotions even in unconsciousness, and when Sasuke thought about the dementors' powers, Sasuke didn't even want to know what Naruto must be going through in his dreams.

Just to be safe, Sasuke activated his Sharingan… and Naruto's chakra was crazy.

The dark orange chakra looked like it was trying to strangle the blue- but the blue was fighting back in pained bursts.

"Sakura," he said sharply. "Why haven't you stabilized his chakra?"

For a second, Sakura just gaped at him. Then her face darkened. "Excuse me? I don't tell you how to defend against the Dark arts, do I? Don't you tell me how to Heal! Now eat this!" She shoved an enormous chunk of chocolate at him and stomped over to Naruto. Sasuke eyed the chocolate and bit off a small piece. He hated most things sweet, chocolate included, but if it was medicinal, he could get over taste. Especially if his mind was elsewhere- like on Naruto.

Sakura was running her hands above Naruto, her palms emitting a faint green glow. Her forehead scrunched as she concentrated on feeling his chakra, unable to see it like Sasuke.

Eventually, she shook her head and stood back. "I know what you're seeing, but I can't do anything without hurting him. Their chakras are too connected."

"Chakra?" asked Harry. He, Ron, and Hermione were watching Sakura's glowing hands with awe.

"It's life energy," said Hermione, surprising all present. "The combination of physical and spiritual energy. There are seven different centers and types named for earth, fire, water, air, sound, light, and thought. There are practices to meditate on each center to bring out those specific characteristics…. It's part of Hinduism and some Buddhism, not to mention practices like yoga. Right?"

"Essentially," agreed Sakura. "Although there are variations, like every practice. But it's what we call magic in our homeland. Chakra. Life energy." She wiggled her glowing fingers with a smile. "We practice certain meditations and techniques to draw it out in like this without the focus of a wand. But some European wizards can do it, too. Like Animagi and Metamorphmagi."

Hermione looked delighted with the intellectual thrill of the discovery, and she and Sakura talked about the details a little further. Sasuke ignored them. He trusted Sakura not to spill anything major, like their combat techniques or village secrets about their training. Instead, he switched back on his Sharingan and observed Naruto's chakra. While Sakura said she couldn't do anything, she must have done something. It had settled down a bit, and the two chakras merely spiked half-heartedly at one another every few seconds. Still, Naruto's face was set in a frown.

Sasuke frowned and leaned back into his pillows. He watched the pulsing ceiling absently.

_Why would Itachi cry?_ He found himself wondering again. Itachi hadn't cared. He had done it just to measure his own abilities. He had left Sasuke alive for the selfish hope of a good fight later down the line. He had struck down his own parents, his aunts and uncles, cousins, his girlfriend, without flinching. Sasuke had seen everything in the horrible genjutsu Itachi had put on him that night and that day in the lodging town. His family being slaughtered like animals, over and over and over for twenty-four hours. Itachi hadn't flinched. His expression never changed.

But there it was. The dementor-induced memory. Itachi fled weeping silently.

If it hurt… why had he done it? Why hadn't he just _stopped_? _Why_?

"…Sasuke?" Sakura asked quietly. She was looking at him with concern. Her chakra was calming down, but it still wavered with uncertainty. "What's wrong? Why are you turning the Sharingan off and on?"

Indeed, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were watching him a little uneasily. He supposed they still associated red eyes with Voldemort. Funny. People in Konoha were usually relieved when they saw the red. It meant a Sharingan teammate was there, and their sorry asses were saved.

He deactivated it again to avoid alienating their charge and shrugged.

Sakura continued looking perturbed. So did the students.

Sasuke took a bite of chocolate and felt a little warmer. But not much. And it didn't stop his racing thoughts. He threw the chunk in the trash and ignored Sakura's protests. "Can you tell when Naruto will wake up?" he asked instead.

Sakura stopped, sidetracked. "Not specifically, no," she murmured, eyes glazing over as she looked back at Naruto. "It all depends on the horror of his past, though, doesn't it? Harry said he used to pass out around dementors, but he'd only be out a few seconds. And you were only out a few minutes… so I guess it should be sometime soon. I can't imagine how Naruto's past would be much worse than yours."

Sasuke made a soft snorting noise. "Don't you remember the first thing your parents ever told you about 'that little blond kid'?" he asked tonelessly. Sakura frowned, obviously remembering but not seeing the connection. Sasuke continued, "Now, don't you think that's what every parent told their child? And what about the kids that felt strongly about that? What about the _parents_ that felt strongly about that? Hell of an environment to grow up in. Different than mine, but horror is horror."

Sakura's frown softened into a look of pained sympathy.

Harry asked slowly, "What… did your parents tell you about Naruto? Why would they know about him when you were just little kids?"

Sasuke and Sakura shared a glance. Then Sakura said, "It's… against our village rules to tell anyone who doesn't already know. I'm sorry. I guess Naruto's the only one who can choose to say it."

"Hn," Sasuke agreed.

"Is he alright?" asked Hermione, brow knitting in concern. "I mean, he doesn't have a bad illness or something along those lines, does he?"

"Oh, no," said Sakura quickly. "His health is… better than normal, actually."

While Harry, Ron, and Hermione puzzled that statement out, Sakura turned back to Sasuke, her expression still pained. "They didn't… hurt him, did they? I noticed they were always… cold… but they never acted on it, did they?"

Sasuke shrugged a shoulder. "In little ways. I don't know how many times he's come to my house for a shower because his landlords cut off his water, or whatnot. He never said anything about outright violence, but I suppose he's still unconscious for a reason."

"Why would your villagers do that to Naruto?" demanded Hermione, shocked. "He's a good person! What reason could they possibly-"

"We just told you that's Naruto's secret to tell," snapped Sasuke.

Sakura, however, had caught on to a different point. "Hey, Sasuke-kun…. Can I come take a shower at your house, too?"

"…Please, don't."

"Damn it."

While Ron snorted at Sakura's antics, Harry and Hermione looked back to Naruto.

"This has to do with why Dark sensing devices go off around Naruto, doesn't it?" said Harry.

Sasuke and Sakura looked up, Sakura mildly surprised and Sasuke as emotionless as ever. Then Sakura said weakly, "Hai."

"I thought you said that was done when your school was attacked just a few months ago," said Harry, his voice taking on a sharper tone as he turned to Sasuke. "Not during his childhood."

Sasuke met his gaze evenly. "It was redone when our school was attacked."

Under the steel of Sasuke's gaze, Harry seemed to realize he wasn't going to get any new information out of them. He 'hmph'ed and looked away.

After half an hour, Harry, Ron, and Hermione left with Sakura's promise that she would contact them as soon as Naruto woke up.

Naruto hadn't woken up by the end of visiting hours, and Sakura shooed Sasuke away with an authority she only seemed to gain in hospitals. He and Sakura had sat beside Naruto until nightfall, sharing a companionable silence Sakura couldn't remember experiencing with this particular teammate.

Before their team had been broken, she had taken every moment she could be alone with him as an opportunity to flirt… but she had grown up in those years apart. She looked at Sasuke and she still loved him. She loved him with every fiber of her being, with every aching beat of her heart…. She saw his pain and she wanted to reach out and help him, take some of the terrible burden away… but he still didn't love her, and he still kept his ambition too close to his heart to let her help.

He could tolerate her, now, though. She had grown into a strong teammate, not someone he constantly had to protect when situations got dangerous. But he didn't love her like she did him. She was starting to realize he probably never would. He would never allow something as distracting as love enter his life until Itachi was out of it.

And so they had sat, an unspoken understanding easing the silence until Pomfrey appeared and informed them visiting hours were drawing to a close.

"I'll floo you if he wakes up," Sakura promised, and only then did he agree to go back to their charge.

He nodded, not looking at her, and swept out of the room.

Sakura watched him leave for a moment, feeling the straining muscles in her face as she tried not to look as worried as she felt. When she turned back to look at Naruto, she let the façade drop.

There was her best friend, unconscious and in pain again.

She sighed and retook her seat by his side. Without a word, she took his hand in her own and leaned her chin against his pillow. Naruto always took the worst beatings in their missions, it seemed. And somehow, he was still the one that always managed to save them.

"Are you sure you don't want to get some rest, too, dearie?" asked Madam Pomfrey gently, sticking her head out of her office. Sakura was pretty sure she was the only one that got endearing titles from the usually bustling nurse.

"I'm sure, Poppy-senpai," said Sakura softly. She had decided Pomfrey was more of a mentor than a straight out sensei, and the nurse seemed to like the foreign title, so it stuck. "I don't want him to wake up alone after whatever those dementors did to him."

Madam Pomfrey nodded in understanding. She had told them about the dementor guards from three years ago and seemed to sympathize with Sasuke and Sakura without saying much directly.

So Pomfrey returned to her office work, and Sakura returned to her vigil.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

_Red eyes. Mesmerizing. Red eyes. Uchiha. Rage._

_Rage._

_His claws were fiery, steel spikes longer and wider than the trees he swiped out of his path. His tails, nine flowing and slashing in the wind behind him, lashed out at the earth and its people, its buildings and walls. They crumbled and shattered like china plates smashed to the ground. Warm blood splattered cold rubble that used to house their families._

_Sadistic pleasure and rage._

_He snatched up a few people in his jaws and bit down, savoring the crunch of their spines and skulls. Their warm, salty body juices slid down his throat in torrents, and he chewed up the rest of their crunchy bones before swallowing._

_Sadistic pleasure and rage._

_Little men charged forward with little knives, forming little patterns with their little hands. He smashed them all with his tails and continued destroying their homes and eating their loved ones._

_Sadistic pleasure._

_And then __**his**__ voice rose above the others. The one Kyuubi had been warned about. The Yondaime Hokage. The only threat in the whole village. His hair was the pale yellow of the sun on a clear autumn day, and it whipped his face violently in the chakra-wind. His eyes, too piercing and intelligent for the Kyuubi's liking, were bloodshot and dark with pain – but determination set his face in pure steel and hid the pain behind a cold killer intent. He was a threat, yes. Kyuubi could feel it with his centuries of experience. The Fourth's intelligence combined with that unyielding determination could prove absolutely deadly._

…_But he was standing on a toad._

"_Alright, everyone pull back! I need a clear shot!"_

_The toad was enormous, Kyuubi admitted, almost as big as him, but it was still a toad. The Threat was going to fight him… with a toad._

_Kyuubi let his ridicule show with a particularly vicious swipe of his tails, and the toad had to leap several hundred yards in the air to avoid being slaughtered by fiery chakra. Somehow, the Fourth remained standing on its head, clutching something to his chest. A small bundle. The Fourth seemed to whisper something to it, and then he looked back to Kyuubi, the determination in his eyes now blazing like white-hot iron. The pain had been shoved aside with such fierce resolve, the Fourth had within seconds accepted what was happening and moved on to action. No hesitation. No regret._

_Kyuubi didn't know what made him do it. He stopped in his rampage to meet that scalding gaze._

_Mistake._

_He felt captured by the sheer intensity of the eyes. This was a man who would not stop; who would not be stopped. The Kyuubi, for all his hundred times more chakra than this weak little human, hesitated. This man didn't care about his impossible disadvantage. The Kyuubi was just one more obstacle to overcome, and __**he would not be stopped.**_

_The Kyuubi barely noticed when the man set down the bundle and began the hand signs; he never released the beast's gaze, and his expression never once wavered. By the time the Kyuubi realized what was happening, his body was already ripping in half, fading, melting it seemed, sucked towards the Fourth as if in a vortex, and then towards the bundle at his feet. _

_He roared. He roared in rage and anger and flung out his chakra like lifelines towards the trees and buildings and earth, trying to stop this somehow astronomically powerful jutsu. He flung out his chakra at the man himself, trying to kill the source of the jutsu if all else failed. The trees ripped out of the ground. The buildings crumbled like sand castles. The earth cracked and groaned in protest. The man simply watched. He would not be stopped. His jutsu would not be stopped. The only thing left… was for the Kyuubi to be stopped._

"_Not yet, beast," a voice reached him somewhere in the agony and rage. __**His**__ voice. The Fourth. "You will live. You will live hating me, but you will help me. __**I'm watching you**__."_

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

_Screaming, wailing, sobbing. Crashing, breaking, crushing, gasping. Roar. Roar. Roar. Like the Earth itself was being cracked like a china plate. Fire raining like hail. Like Hell. Screaming. Crashing._

_Roar._

_Quick motion, panic. "But, Sensei, Rin was in there! We have to go ba-"_

"_And so was my wife! They're gone, Kakashi! __**Gone**__. We have to focus on the village!"_

_Silence. Quick movements. Crashing. "H-hai, Yondaime-sama."_

"_Kakashi, I'm promoting you to captain, don't argue! Take as many jounin and ANBU as you can find and push It back to the northern gate! Hold It there for me! Do NOT let It any farther into the village!"_

"_But Minato-sensei, you can't use that jutsu! Jiraiya-sama said it would-!"_

"_DO IT, KAKASHI!" Silence. More motion. Crashing, roaring all around. He felt himself being held tightly, and he felt safe and secure. This was right. A young man's face suddenly came into view, spiky blond hair, bloodshot eyes. Tortured eyes. A strained but heart-wrenchingly honest smile. "Naruto. My little Naruto." Eyes the color of the sky closed, and the young face scrunched up in absolute agony. "I'm so sorry!" Tears coursed down his cheeks. And then there was motion._

_Motion. The roaring and crashing and monsoon of fire were getting so loud, so loud, but he was being held so tightly, he was safe. He didn't have to worry inside this embrace._

_The motion never really stopped, but his Comforting One did. The earth rumbled and shook._

"_Alright, everyone pull back! I need a clear shot!" Shouting. Motion. A tight hug and shaking breath. A whispered, "Forgive me, Kakashi-kun. R-Rin-chan. Jiraiya-sensei. Kushina. N-Naruto."_

_And then he was being laid down and the comforting voice was saying even stranger words, his voice in so much pain. And then agony exploded in Naruto's stomach, blinding, rushing pain. Naruto cried, his wail adding to the already deafening roar. And then the comforting embrace took him again, holding on as if he never wanted to let go, holding on as if the Comforting One's life depended on the embrace. The last embrace. His sweat-soaked forehead pressed gently against Naruto's, and his tears splashed on Naruto's feebly reaching arms._

"_I love you, Naruto. I love you so much," his voice broke, mixing with sobs and pained gasps. "I- I wanted to watch you grow up-… I w-wanted to be there-… I'm so sorry… I won't see you st-start the Academy… or- or graduate… or become the best shinobi th-this w-world has ev-ever seen-… And y-you will be. Y-you have to- to stop him- when he c-comes a-again-…" He pressed Naruto to his chest and held on, even as Death- yes, Naruto recognized Death, his wild mane of hair and gaping, leering mouth- grabbed his shoulders and pulled. The Comforting One resisted, never letting go of his son, holding on as if he could live through his own suicide jutsu if he just didn't let go. "N-Naruto…!" There was rushing wind, and golden blond hair flowed in his face. They were falling, but the Comforting One didn't let go. He never wanted to let go. Roaring._

_Roar._

"_NO! MINATO-SENSEI! NOO!"_

_Roar. _

_Thud._

_And Minato let go._

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

It was close to midnight, and Sakura was beginning to droop wearily when Naruto gasped like a man returning from Death. He sat bolt upright, eyes as wide as Rasengans and in twice as much turmoil.

He stared straight ahead, unseeing as Sakura sat up. Then, before Sakura even realized what was going on, rivers streamed down his cheeks from his wide-open eyes. He didn't move but for his coursing tears and ragged breaths.

"Naruto?" Sakura whispered, standing up and leaning into his bed. He still didn't move. His tears didn't stop. If anything, his mouth opened slightly in an expression of blank shock and horror. "Naruto, it's okay! It's me, Sakura. Naruto, can you hear me?"

Then, suddenly, he curled up on himself, ducking his face in his knees and sobbing uncontrollably.

Sakura jumped in surprise. "N-Naruto! What's wrong?" She quickly pushed her chakra to her hands and held them over Naruto, concentrating on his chakra for any hints of injury.

Blue chakra swirled and rushed about her green-glowing hands, in a panic, but there was no source of a wound. Emotional turmoil, then. Fucking dementors.

She released the medical chakra and did the only thing she could think of- she pulled Naruto's curled up form into an embrace, resisting tears of empathy.

Feeling the action, Naruto uncurled himself and latched onto her, immediately sobbing into the nape of her neck and holding onto her so tightly she couldn't breathe. Sakura ignored that and held him tighter as well, resting her chin in the nape of his neck in return.

"Sshh," she whispered. "Sshh, it's okay. Everything's okay, now, Naruto. Sshh, sshh."

She didn't know how long they stayed like that, and she didn't care. This was her best friend. He had done the same for her countless nights when she couldn't stop crying for Sasuke; she would rather pitch herself to rabid nin-dogs before letting Naruto down by not returning the favor. She hugged him as tightly as she could without chakra-reinforced arms. "Ssh, Naruto. It's okay…"

More time passed. Gradually, the tears began to lessen, and he began to hiccup between heaving bursts. After a few more minutes, the tears on his face began to dry, and he pulled back, not looking at her, though she could still see the trauma lurking as shadows in his eyes.

"Hey," she whispered, attempting to smile. She rubbed his upper arm comfortingly, unable to let go of him entirely. "You okay now?"

Naruto just stared at a spot behind her, that same quiet horror darkening his usually bright blue eyes. His expression was weakly anguished.

Sakura frowned, beginning to get seriously worried. She hurried over to her giant slab of chocolate and broke off a piece with super-strengthened fingers. She placed it in his dead-limp hands. "Here, Naruto. Eat it, please. It'll make you feel better. Warmer. Please, eat it."

He just stared.

"I wanted him to die," he breathed. "But he… he d-didn't want to let go. H-He didn't want to d-die."

Sakura froze. "What? Who?"

Naruto blinked a few times. "The… my… he…"

"…Naruto?"

Naruto fell back into his pillows slowly, eyes wide, still staring at something she couldn't see. "He loved me. But I… I killed… _everyone_…"

"What, Naruto?"

Silence echoed in the hospital wing. Without warning, tears once again began spilling from Naruto's eyes. "I killed them," he whispered. "I destroyed the village. I liked their _blood_…."

Sakura's eyes widened in sudden comprehension. The Kyuubi's chakra had spiked along with Naruto's. The dementors had affected _it_ too. Could Naruto possibly have seen the _Kyuubi's_ worst memories?

Naruto leaned forward again, now laying his forehead on his knees, which he had drawn back up to his chest. He cried quietly, and Sakura rested a hand on his leg.

"You are not the Nine-tails, Naruto," she said quietly. "Listen to me. I know you must have seen it like it was you, but it wasn't. You are a good person. You would never want to destroy Konoha or kill anyone. I know you. You've been my best friend since we were twelve. You're a good person, and you are not that monster inside of you."

Naruto sniffled for a few seconds. Then he looked up at her with clouded, bloodshot eyes. "Best… friend?"

Sakura tried not to roll her eyes. "Well, yeah, dummy," she murmured. "You were always there for me, weren't you? That's what friends do for each other. …And you're the best at it."

Naruto watched her for a moment, clearly unable to comprehend what he heard. And then he smiled weakly. "Wow, Sakura. Thanks. You're a really good friend, too."

Sakura rolled her eyes shoved him. "Baka," she said fondly.

Naruto glanced around, finally taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. "Where are we? What happened?"

"We're in the hospital wing. Dementors showed up, and you and Sasuke passed out. But Sasuke woke up a few hours ago, so he's with Harry now."

"What's a dementor?"

"From what I understand, it's a Dark creature that sucks all the happiness out of people and only leaves them with their worst memories. Um, Harry said that people with horrific pasts are affected the worst, which is why you and Sasuke passed out."

"Who sent the dementors? Voldemort?"

Sakura hesitated. "I don't know. Sasuke and I haven't had a chance to get all the information just yet. I'll need to contact Tsunade-sama as soon as we do, though. I don't like this situation at all."

Naruto nodded blankly. Thinking of Tsunade made him remember Konoha more clearly than anything they'd said so far. Konoha. In flames. The roaring and crashing and screaming. Kakashi-sensei. The Fourth.

He groaned and rubbed his head again. He had seen it, the day of his birth. But how? There was no way he should be able to remember anything about that day. No way.

But the Kyuubi could. It had been the worst day of his life, too, hadn't it? The day he was finally defeated… by the stubborn blond hokage Naruto had always admired the most.

His father.

He closed his eyes and leaned back into his pillows. "My head…" he moaned, covering his face with his hands.

There was no way.

No. Way.

He could not be the son of the most respected hokage of all time. The son of the man that put the freaking Nine-tails inside of him. Why would a father do that to his son?

So, logically, the memory was false or so misleading it wasn't even funny. There was no way.

But it felt so real. The safety in his arms. Running through a crumbling Konoha, and he'd never felt so secure.

Of course, even if it wasn't his father, it was the fucking Fourth Hokage. Who wouldn't feel safe in his arms?

_It was more than that_, a part of his mind argued stubbornly. _I felt so close to him. I loved him, too._

_You were a day old_, the other part of his mind shot back. _You didn't know what was going on._

He felt Sakura press a goblet into his hands, and he grasped it automatically.

"Calming Draught," she whispered, watching him worriedly. "It'll help the headache and let you go back to sleep. I think you need it."

Naruto hesitated, letting the goblet hover near his lips uncertainly. "Will it- will it make me forget?"

Sakura frowned but shook her head. "Not specifically, no…."

After another eternal second, Naruto gulped down the potion. Within seconds, he felt his mind and emotions slow into a steady, pulsing calm. Within minutes, his eyelids closed and his world faded from view.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Sasuke had been thinking. This could be either a good thing or a bad thing. Sometimes, when Sasuke thought, he ended up creating brilliant battle strategies to save his life and /or the lives of his comrades. That was good thinking.

Other times, when Sasuke thought, he ended up brooding about his clan and his revenge, which had been known to lead him away from Konoha and into the hands of the enemy – whom he had simply dubbed 'new allies in training.' That was bad thinking.

This thinking somehow spawned from both. He was thinking about the dementors, brooding about his family while pretending to read a book for Ancient Runes homework. He, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the last Gryffindors awake, and they were all at least feigning working on homework.

But Sasuke was thinking about dementors and how they made him pass out.

Voldemort knew dementors made Sasuke pass out. Hell, every Death Eater knew they made him pass out. He'd done it in front of God and everyone the very first week he was left with Voldemort. The wizard snake bastard had summoned the creatures from Azkaban to give them orders, and Sasuke had just happened to walk out of the manor with the Meeting Graveyard in view. He'd fallen like a fly in Raid, and when the Death Eaters and Dark Lord figured out why, he'd been forced to Crucio every one of their asses to get them to stop laughing.

He smirked at the memory and only realized he was doing so quite evilly when Harry gave him an odd look. He cleansed his expression and returned to his book (and thoughts) without explanation.

So someone had to have sent the dementors; and someone also had to know Harry had guards – guards who passed out in the presence of dementors. Voldemort knew his weakness. Had Snape told him of Sasuke's presence at Hogwarts, and his obvious function? Or had Akatsuki really been in Hogsmeade and gotten in contact with Voldemort? Had Akatsuki let the snake bastard know of his presence, and Voldemort had provided the dementors? Or was it just Death Eaters at Hogsmeade, and they had easily recognized Sasuke from his months as an honorary Death Eater-foreign ally?

"Harry," he said, still staring at his Ancient Runes book as he contemplated. "Did you see who sent the dementors?"

Harry, who had been tapping his quill thoughtfully against a Potions essay, froze.

_Bingo_, Sasuke thought.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry I didn't post this yesterday! You wouldn't believe the crazy week I've had. If I told you, you'd really be like, "You're lying! Stop making up excuses!" ...Kakashi flashbacks. Anyways, sorry again, and please review! =D**


	9. Echoes of Dementors

**Warning: More fairly significant spoilers.**

**Chapter 8: Echoes of Dementors**

"Harry," he said, still staring at his Ancient Runes book as he contemplated. "Did you see who sent the dementors?"

Harry, who had been tapping his quill thoughtfully against a Potions essay, froze.

_Bingo_, Sasuke thought.

"Well," began Harry slowly. "I saw two people standing at the edge of the forest…. I guess they were the ones that sent them. I started to chase them, but Dumbledore showed up and stopped me. They were gone before I could see their faces."

"And?" Two people. That was how Akatsuki operated.

"And Dumbledore said it wasn't Voldemort… and one of them… I could see he had red eyes."

Silence fell like a guillotine. If anyone breathed, Sasuke's shinobi senses couldn't hear it.

Sasuke closed his eyes. Itachi. Itachi had come to Hogwarts. Armed with knowledge only Voldemort and the Death Eaters knew.

So had Dumbledore scared him off… or had his goal already been accomplished? Was he supposed to capture Harry and Naruto or simply assess the situation?

"Itachi?" whispered Hermione, looking frightened.

Sasuke nodded mutely, still not looking at them.

Ron whistled lowly.

"What do you think he was after?" asked Harry, watching him closely. "You?"

Sasuke didn't answer. He didn't know, but he doubted it was for him. Itachi clearly didn't think Sasuke was worth his time. _Yet_. "Dumbledore knew it was him?"

Harry hesitated. "I think he suspects."

"But- but how did he get past the wards?" asked Hermione. "And with dementors, no less! With all the new security, he shouldn't have managed to get within miles of the school! Even Voldemort can't penetrate the defenses!"

Sasuke tried not to roll his eyes. "Itachi and Voldemort are not even in the same league," he muttered. When the trio shared looks, clearly thinking Sasuke only said that because his war with his brother was so personal, he snapped irritably, "Itachi is one of the greatest prodigies my country has ever produced. My entire clan was made up of geniuses, and he still killed them all single-handedly. And Harry saw him standing inside the wards and defenses with his own eyes. Don't assume my judgment is flawed just because it's personal for me. My brother is one of the most dangerous men in the world."

They looked taken aback by the extent of his justification, but then their senses kicked in and they grimaced in apology.

Sasuke stared into his book again, thinking. Sakura wanted reinforcements as soon as Akatsuki made a move. He'd have to let her in on the situation. If it were only Itachi, he might have hesitated and tried to take on his brother alone, but Akatsuki had clearly allied with Voldemort, so he and Kisame were probably also targeting Potter and possibly Dumbledore or Hogwarts itself. And, it was a long shot, but what if Itachi and Kisame weren't the only Akatsuki members here? And what if Voldemort himself showed up with a horde of Death Eaters along with several Akatsuki in a massive strike to end this Wizarding war?

Sasuke had no idea what they were about to be up against; he had no idea what to expect. And he had no idea what the enemies' goals were.

His fingers tightened on the book. They were in the dark, and what little they could see in the darkness was dangerous – supposedly, too dangerous. Reinforcements would be the wisest option, and Sakura would jump on it.

But damn, Sasuke hated not knowing what was going on.

As if sensing his thoughts, the flames in the fireplace suddenly shot up, turning emerald green, and Sakura stepped out. She looked exhausted.

"Sakura!" Hermione exclaimed, drawing Harry and Ron's attention to the fireplace as well.

Sakura 'hn'ed and sank into an armchair next to Sasuke's. The other three pulled theirs closer to hear what she had to say.

"Naruto just woke up," she muttered, staring blankly into the fire. "But he was a bit of a mess, so I gave him a Calming Draught. He's asleep, now. We can go see him in the morning. If he's any better, I'll release him then."

"A bit of a mess?" repeated Hermione, concerned.

"He… um… seemed a little traumatized and very confused. I think…" she hesitated, looking at Sasuke here, "I think he may have seen the day his parents died."

"He was a day old, if that," said Sasuke, giving her a calculating look. "That's impossible."

"The dementors make me remember the day my parents died," said Harry softly. "I was only a year old. I think if it's his worst memory, and it was incredibly traumatic, the dementors would bring it out."

Sasuke made a soft snorting noise and leaned back, returning to his book, or, at least, seeming to. So Naruto remembered the day of the Kyuubi attack. Did that mean he remembered his own sealing? Did he remember the death of the Yondaime? Did he remember his own parents? Would he finally know if he resembled them as much as Sasuke resembled his mother and brother?

Sasuke closed his eyes, forgetting that he was feigning reading. Did Naruto finally have faces to associate with loss? Did he finally know what it felt like to lose both parents? God, did _Naruto_, the dead last unpredictable _idiot_, find out he had siblings or aunts and uncles who died as well?

'Traumatized and confused.'

Sasuke remembered years ago when he wished someone understood at least a little of his pain, a tiny glimpse of his loss and grief and hatred. Suddenly, hearing that Naruto, that stupid moron who had wormed his way into Sasuke's one-track life even though there was no room for him, was traumatized and confused, like he had been after Itachi murdered their clan, Sasuke wished more than anything that he would be alone in his anguish forever. Naruto shouldn't understand this. It would change him, break him. He had sounded at least fractionally suicidal when he spoke of the Kyuubi living as long as he did; what if this pushed him over the edge?

But Sakura gave him a Calming Draught. That would hold him over for the night at least.

_But the next morning is always the hardest_, whispered that cruel little voice that tortured Sasuke when he didn't need it.

Yes, Sasuke conceded. The morning after had been the worst day of his life. He could black out praying to wake up and find everything was just a bad dream; he could black out and have peace for a little while, not have to remember. But when he had woken up and found it wasn't a dream and nothing was okay and suddenly he was expected to keep living like a _normal person_, like _nothing happened_ and he didn't know _how_ to live on his own… God. He never wanted to feel that desperate confusion again.

"He didn't want to forget," whispered Sakura, breaking the silence. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been lost in their own thoughts as well, their homework lying forgotten. They looked up. Even Sasuke allowed his eyes to look at her over his book. "Whatever memory the dementors brought up, he didn't want to forget…. When I gave him the Calming Draught, he asked me if he would…. It's probably the only memory of his parents he has…."

Sasuke didn't voice a sarcastic 'obviously.' Not many people remembered the day they were born. Instead, he closed his book and stared into the fire.

The fact that Naruto didn't want to forget changed nothing. Sasuke himself treasured the memories he had with his family, no matter how much pain they caused him simultaneously.

The fact remained; he wouldn't let that idiot wake up in the morning feeling more alone than he had any right to.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to bed soon after, and Sasuke briefed Sakura on his thoughts about the dementors, Voldemort, and Akatsuki.

Within minutes, Sakura summoned a small version of Katsuyu. They explained the situation to the slug and asked her to transfer the message to Tsunade with the request for advisement and reinforcements. They waited only minutes for the response.

"Lady Tsunade regrets that the jounin have their hands full at the moment," Katsuyu murmured in her gentle tone. "Akatsuki members were spotted near the border of Fire Country, and she is sending all available units to guard the border. She will send Kakashi as soon as the threat is over and she does not fear he will jeopardize your location."

"How long is that going to take?" asked Sakura, her brow furrowed, probably thinking about how extensive the Fire Country's borders were.

"She believes it will be all clear by early to late December. She begs you to lay low until then, and if all else fails, bring your charge to Konoha, where there are at least other chuunin to help. She asks that you do not break the contract if at all possible, and she will send help as soon as she can."

"Not break the contract…" repeated Sakura, frowning. "Why is this mission suddenly important enough to bring an Outsider to Konoha? I thought it was a regular B-rank – well, quickly going S if Akatsuki really is after him."

"Lady Tsunade has recently discovered some old documents of the Sandaime's," Katsuyu murmured. "She believes the boy is more important than we yet realize, even to Konoha."

As Katsuyu 'poof'ed out of existence, Sakura and Sasuke shared a look.

"Well," noted Sasuke. "This is finally starting to sound interesting."

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

The next morning, Sakura, Harry, Ron, and Hermione went to see Naruto before even heading to breakfast. Sasuke had disappeared without an explanation before dawn.

Naruto was awake and waiting for them. He smiled brightly when they entered, and they greeted him likewise. Sakura quickly checked his chakra and, deeming him stable, told Pomfrey she was releasing him.

"Yes!" exclaimed Naruto, putting on his shoes and flying out the door. He waited for them bouncily. "I haven't missed the game, have I? What about breakfast?"

"No," said Harry, grinning as they caught up and headed towards the Great Hall. "We've still got two hours 'til the game, and we're heading to breakfast now."

Naruto cheered. "HELL YEAH! Let's kick some Slytherin ass!"

Harry and Ron eagerly joined in the ensuing discussion about wiping the floor with Slytherin.

Sakura watched Naruto carefully as they walked. This was something she was used to Naruto doing. Putting on a huge smile and acting fine when something was obviously killing him inside. She wondered how long it would be before he exploded and let the whole castle know his true feelings – because Naruto could never keep his thoughts to himself for long.

They were almost to the Great Hall when Naruto stopped suddenly and looked around.

"Hey, aren't we forgetting something?" he asked, scratching his head. They stared at him blankly, and then he jumped again and demanded, "Where's the bastard? He didn't join my welcoming committee? Son of a bitch!"

"What did you say about my mother?" asked Sasuke, appearing suddenly in front of them and glaring dangerously. Naruto laughed nervously and edged away from him, concealing most of his body behind Sakura, who scowled. Sasuke rolled his eyes and led the way to the Gryffindor table, where students were whispering in confusion about something.

They sat down, wondering what was going on, when Naruto yelled and punched his fist in the air. "YOSH! RAMEN!"

Indeed, all the large bowls that usually carried porridge and oatmeal in the mornings were now filled with various kinds of ramen, and all the silverware had been transfigured into chopsticks. Most of the students were playing with the foreign utensils in bewilderment.

"Ramen?" said Hermione, blinking in confusion. "I don't think Hogwarts has ever served us ramen before… or with chopsticks. I wonder what the occasion is."

She looked at Sakura and Sasuke expectantly while Naruto dug in. Sakura looked at Sasuke, trying not to let surprise or amusement show. "Did you do this?" she whispered, eyes gleaming and lips twitching towards a smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Sasuke, sitting down with exceptional poise. "It must be one of Dumbledore's strange gestures."

Neither Sakura nor Hermione looked as though they entirely believed him.

Sasuke and Sakura helped themselves to bowls of ramen while Naruto moved on to his second.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione fumbled with the foreign utensils for a minute before Hermione figured it out, Harry mimicked her a little more clumsily, and Ron simply took one in each hand and attempted to use them like spoons. Sakura giggled.

An hour later, about five hundred girls were swooning. Sasuke was in bright red and gold Quidditch robes, and he couldn't possibly look hotter (or stranger) in the cheerful colors. Even Hermione blushed as she watched him soar close to the Chasers through omnioculars. Sakura turned her own pair of binoculars to Naruto after she had her fill of Sasuke and noticed with a cackle of laughter that he was scowling angrily at Sasuke, who seemed to shoot back with an oblivious, "What's your problem?"

She laughed again, and the game began.

"Well, there they go, and I think we're all surprised to see the team that Potter's put together this year. Many thought, given Ronald Weasley's patchy performance as Keeper last year, that he might be off the team, but of course, a close personal friendship with the Captain does help…"

When the Gryffindors booed heartily and the Slytherins jeered, Sakura asked Hermione, "Who's that?"

"Zacharias Smith," said Hermione with a dark look. "Hufflepuff. Jerk. Commentator."

"There's Ginny Weasley with the Quaffle, Ron Weasley's sister and also close friend of Potter's. A fair player, though I thought there might be more talent at the try-outs this year…. And the new beaters are the foreign exchange students, also known to hang out with said Captain…. Unusual build for Beaters; Beaters are typically stockier with more muscle, whereas Uchiha and Uzumaki seem to be average height and skinny…. Well, I guess we'll see if the Potter fan club makes a good Quidditch team as well…."

In the air, Sasuke noticed his blond comrade's face turning red in anger, probably triggered by the words 'more muscle' 'skinny' and 'fan club.' Sasuke smirked as he saw a bludger coming towards his side. He flew up ahead of the Chasers a bit so that his angle was better and knocked the bludger towards Naruto, who grinned. All Naruto had to do was swing his bat backwards, and the bludger soared into the commentator's podium with a lot more muscle behind it than was probably legal.

Zacharias, who had been commenting on Katie Bell's questionable reputation, cut off mid sentence with, "MERLIN'S PANTS!" and caught the bludger with his face.

"SORRY, PROFESSOR!" bellowed Naruto to a furious Professor McGonagall, who was helping Smith up. "STILL NEW AT THIS GAME!"

Sasuke saw Harry grinning madly from on high and concluded Harry had been getting annoyed with the comments, too.

The game continued. The Gryffindor Chasers dominated the scoreboard with their impenetrable guard of Beaters. The Slytherin team couldn't even get close to the Quaffle without mimicking Smith's bludger-to-face demonstration. Sasuke was thankful. If they had managed to get the Quaffle, Ron probably would have screwed it up and missed the goals. By the time Gryffindor was one hundred to zero, however, he doubted it would matter.

And then he saw the Slytherin Seeker, Harper, dive after a glint of gold. In the same second, Harry took off after him. He frowned, vaguely surprised; Potter had decent reflexes- which was good, because if Harper got the Snitch, Slytherin would win the game. Not to mention that usefulness in fighting Voldemort thing.

"Oi, Harper!" he could vaguely hear Harry yell when Harper's fingers inched closer towards the Snitch. "How much did Malfoy pay you to come on instead of him?"

Harper fumbled and, in his surprise, Harry swept up and caught the Snitch.

The Chasers, Ron, and Naruto swamped Harry in a massive mid-air hug.

Sasuke landed with the rest of team and watched as they shared hugs and handshakes and slaps on the shoulders, and then the process expanded when friends poured onto the field. The other Gryffindors wisely stayed away from him.

The atmosphere of the changing rooms was jubilant. "Party up in the common room, Dean said!" yelled Ron, grinning from ear to ear as he shrugged out of his Quidditch robes and into school ones.

"Skinny my ass," grinned Ginny, catching sight of Sasuke and Naruto pulling on regular robes as well. "You two put every Hogwarts student to shame!"

Naruto blushed bright red but grinned, while Sasuke ignored the observation. They weren't body-builder buff, but their lean muscles and toned abs did look impressive next to Harry and Ron's lack thereof.

"Hey, is that a tattoo?" Katie Bell had caught sight of the black markings on Sasuke's neck- the curse mark. Harry, Ron, Demelza, and Ginny looked up curiously.

Sasuke felt his body tense automatically- the subject had been taboo in Konoha for so long, hearing it brought up so casually temporarily made his mind blank. Then he answered tonelessly, "In a manner of speaking," and brought his robes up over it.

Seeing the subject close, the team finished up and headed back to the castle, accepting congratulations from half the school on the way.

As soon as Sasuke caught sight of Sakura, however, he pulled her aside. In the craziness of the party, the action went unnoticed, except by a few jealous-looking girls.

Sakura looked stunned herself for a moment, until Sasuke asked, "Where was Draco Malfoy? He was supposed to be Slytherin's Seeker."

Remembering her one clone, Sakura closed her eyes and whispered, "Kai!"

Sasuke watched her eyes glaze slightly when she opened them, absorbing the new information. Then she frowned. "He… went to a room. He was working on a cabinet of some sort, waving his wand at it and putting stuff in it. But I didn't recognize the room. It wasn't one Dumbledore briefed us on."

Sasuke stared at her. "We were briefed on all the rooms. We explored the entire castle ourselves."

"This one wasn't there before," Sakura insisted. "He walked around a corridor on the seventh floor and it just appeared out of nowhere."

"Appeared out of nowhere…."

Sakura gave him a resentful look. "Magic, perhaps?"

Sasuke didn't react to her jibe. Instead, he said, "Shouldn't the headmaster have mentioned magically appearing rooms?"

"What about magically appearing rooms?" asked Harry, finding his way over to them along with Naruto. Both had helped themselves to butterbeer while Sasuke and Sakura talked.

"Oh!" said Sakura freezing. "Just something we overheard. From Luna Lovegood! She didn't exactly look like a reliable source, though, ha-ha…."

"Luna, huh?" said Harry. "She must have been talking about the Room of Requirement. That was where we held our Defense meetings last year. It appears out of nowhere when you need it. It's actually where I thought I could help you guys with Patronus charms."

Sasuke arched an eyebrow. He knew Sakura had picked the name of the strangest person they'd met so far just to discredit the story, so hearing it confirmed with details… that was a lucky break.

"Is this a _classroom_ that just appears out of nowhere?" asked Sasuke. He doubted that was the case, since the room appeared when someone had need of it, and there were already plenty of classrooms to spare.

"It takes the form of whatever you need," Harry elaborated. "Like, if you really needed a bathroom when you passed it, it would turn into a bathroom. We needed a classroom with lots of space and cushions and practice dummies, so that's what we got."

"And books," added Hermione enthusiastically, coming to join their conversation. "There were entire shelves of books about Defense and jinxes and curses…. It was incredibly useful."

Sasuke tried not to let his astonishment show. This room could be absolutely anything, and the headmaster was letting it go completely unguarded? And now there was no way in hell to find out what Draco Malfoy was using it for, if it changed for everyone. The young Death Eater could be doing anything under the sun!

Instead, he asked, "Shall we go there tomorrow to work on the Patronus charm, then?"

"Yeah, sure," said Harry. "We can work on getting the charm tomorrow, and then I guess we can see if we can find a Boggart to practice on. Dumbledore thinks you'll need to use it for real again, so just learning the charm won't be enough."

"Boggart?" repeated Naruto, squinting.

"It's a shape-shifter," said Sakura. "It turns into the thing it thinks will scare you the most; your worst fear. But how will that help us practice against dementors?"

"They turn into dementors around me," Harry explained. "Cold, rattling breath and everything. Our third year Defense professor had the idea of using a Boggart for me to practice on. I guess if you just let me stand closest to it, you can practice the Patronus on it from a distance."

Sasuke gave Harry a nearly curious look. "So, your worst fear is fear itself? Wise for a thirteen year old."

Harry looked stunned for a second – it was the closest thing to a compliment he'd ever heard from Sasuke – and then grinned. "That's exactly what my professor said."

Sasuke gave a half-nod. "Tomorrow, then."

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

That night, Harry woke to the sound of soft words. He opened his eyes blearily, wondering why he was suddenly such a light sleeper. Or maybe his senses warned him of _sneaking_. Suspicious behavior. It had done that a few times.

"Naruto, wake up." It was Sasuke again. Did he ever sleep? "_Idiot_, up."

"…Huh…?" Naruto mumbled, as groggy as Harry felt. "…Bastard…?"

"Wake up, moron. We need to talk."

"…Can't you ever talk… during the day… like normal people…?" Covers rustled, and Harry guessed Naruto was sitting up. The blond yawned loudly. "Well, what is it?" he asked, lowering his tone to something night-appropriate. "Nightmares again?"

"Idiot," Sasuke muttered. "I haven't had any nightmares since we've been here."

"But with the dementors, I figured…. Well, you had nightmares for weeks after Itachi put that mind technique on you…. The dementors did kind of the same thing, right?"

"This isn't about me, you loser," Sasuke snapped. "It's about Akatsuki and Voldemort."

Harry stifled his sharp intake of breath. There was a beat of silence in which he feared he had been heard, so he redoubled his efforts in evening out his breathing to appear asleep.

And then Naruto asked, "What about them? They sent the dementors?"

"Harry saw Itachi and Kisame in the forest. And only Voldemort and the Death Eaters know I pass out around dementors. They have to be allied. There's no other explanation."

_Kisame? So that was the second one I saw? _Harry thought distractedly. _And how the bloody hell would Voldemort and Death Eaters know that about Sasuke?_

"So did Sakura send for help?"

"Hai. But Akatsuki were spotted around the border at home, so Tsunade-sama has all the jounin on that. She'll send Kakashi when it's over, there."

_Jounin?_ Harry wondered. _Kakashi?_

There was a second of silence, and then Naruto asked slowly, though he sounded more alert, "But if Itachi and Kisame know I'm here… why are other Akatsuki members looking for me at home? Don't they communicate with each other?"

_They were looking for Naruto? Why Naruto? Why not Sasuke? His own brother is a member!_

"I don't know," said Sasuke, just as slowly. His tone had a weighted quality. "They communicate over wide distances to seal the tailed beasts, so it would make sense for them to have means of instantaneous communication in other situations, such as when to meet for the sealing…."

There was that reference to 'sealing' again. And what were the tailed beasts?

"So they either know I'm here and are attacking the Leaf Village anyway… or Itachi and Kisame aren't telling them I'm here," concluded Naruto dubiously. "Neither of those makes sense, Sasuke."

Sasuke sighed heavily. "I know, dobe." His voice suddenly sounded tired, as if the weight of the entire situation had fallen squarely on his shoulders. "Maybe Itachi and Kisame weren't planning on telling the others until you were successfully captured. They've already screwed it up once. I bet they looked like dumbasses then and don't want to chance it happening again."

Harry noted with amusement that Sasuke's voice sounded vaguely smug as he called his brother a dumbass.

"…Maybe…. But Deidara and Sasori screwed it up, too, so they can't have looked too bad. At least they weren't killed," pointed out Naruto, his tone suggesting a smug, direct assault on Sasuke's logic.

"I just said I don't know, idiot," Sasuke snapped, not rising to the bait. "I'm not Akatsuki; I don't think like they do."

Naruto muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Close enough…."

Silence. Harry could practically feel the cold anger radiating from Sasuke, and he wondered what Naruto was talking about. Close enough? To Akatsuki? And then Sasuke said bitterly, "Forgive me for trying to keep you updated, loser. From now on, I'll just keep my opinions to myself."

"Ah, bastard, you know I didn't mean it," said Naruto in a bad attempt at playfulness. "If I can't make fun of your traitorous ass, what can I make fun of?"

_Traitorous ass? What's going on? What happened?_

Again, the silence crackled like frost. Sasuke said just as coldly, "Go back to sleep, Naruto. That was all."

Naruto didn't move. Harry held his breath. Then Naruto muttered, "You haven't slept since the dementors, have you? You're always so goddamn grumpy when you're tired."

"That's none of your business."

Naruto snorted softly. "Right. What'd you remember that's got your panties in such a twist? It's not like you don't think about that night all the time, anyway. Was it something different?"

"I said go back to sleep, Naruto," Sasuke snapped, his tone taking on a sharper edge. Apparently, Naruto had overstepped another boundary. And apparently he had struck close to the heart of the matter.

"I'll tell you what I saw if you tell me what you saw," Naruto bargained, obviously thinking the same thing as Harry.

"What are you, five?"

"I know you're curious," Naruto's voice was smug. "You can't stand not knowing stuff."

Silence. Harry could just imagine Sasuke seething, so accurately pegged. And then he snapped, "I don't care. Whatever you saw has nothing to do with me."

"Yes, it does," Naruto countered, suddenly serious. "If you tell me what's bothering you, I'll tell you something about the Kyuubi and the Sharingan."

"…What?"

"You heard me. I saw the Sharingan. Through the Kyuubi's eyes."

"And you're keeping that from me just because you want to know _what's bothering me_? Are you insane or just that _stupid_?" Sasuke sounded outraged, though he kept his voice hushed.

Naruto's calm, serious tone didn't change. "I told you when you left us, Sasuke. You're not alone anymore, and you don't have to carry the weight of the world all on your own. Just let me help you sometimes, or pain will break you. Again."

"I didn't break." Sasuke's voice, formerly cold and angry, suddenly bit like an icicle. "I made a calculated decision."

"Fine then," retorted Naruto, and the sudden lack of anything and everything friendly made Harry think it was Sasuke who had overstepped a boundary this time. Harry wondered what decision Sasuke had made. "I guess I won't tell you about the Kyuubi and Sharingan. Good night, bastard."

He flopped back into his bed and began to shut his curtains.

"Itachi was crying."

The curtains froze.

Sasuke continued bluntly, "I awakened my Sharingan that night. I chased him when he fled and threw a kunai at him. It knocked his forehead protector off, and when he put it back on… he looked back at me. He was crying. I've never remembered that before. I must have repressed it because I couldn't believe it."

"_Itachi_?" repeated Naruto after a second of stunned silence. "Like, the same one I met three years ago? Crying? Seriously? Why?"

"Idiot, if I knew why, it wouldn't be bothering me, would it?" He paused and then added grudgingly, "Okay, maybe it would. I don't know. I just… I don't know."

There was a faint creak from Sasuke's bed, and Harry guessed he had sat down, defeated by his own inner turmoil.

For a few more seconds, silence encased the room. Naruto seemed to be digesting the information. He broke the silence with, "Maybe he didn't want to kill his family."

"Then why _the_ _fuck_ did he do it?" Sasuke snapped. "It has to be something else. Something I'm missing."

"Like what?"

"Usuratonkachi," growled Sasuke. "I just said I don't know. Are you getting a kick out of hearing that or is your short term memory that atrocious?"

"Ma, ma," muttered Naruto. "You don't have to bite my head off for it. Jeez. I just… that doesn't make sense." He paused before adding, "I think your brother is just weird. He cried when he slaughtered your clan, and now he's here without attacking me or telling the rest of Akatsuki I'm here."

Sasuke sighed almost inaudibly. "Definitely missing something…."

"I don't suppose we could just, you know, find him and ask him, eh?"

Silence.

Sasuke said, "If I find him, I'll kill him. I'm tired of him taking talking as an opportunity to escape. Now tell me about the Kyuubi and Sharingan. What happened?"

This time, the sudden drop of sound in the dorm was Naruto's fault. After several seconds, Naruto said, "Actually, all this thinking has gotten me exhausted. I think I'll just go back to sleep now- GODDAMN IT, BASTARD!"

Harry couldn't help it: his eyes shot open.

Naruto was suddenly dangling upside down by his ankle, squirming angrily in midair. Sasuke sat on his own bed, expression neutral as he held his wand pointed towards Naruto. He flicked it, and Naruto fell back to his bed with an 'oomph!'

Harry quickly squeezed his eyes shut again. He heard Sasuke say, "You don't go back on your word, dumbass. Remember? You've shouted it at me at least a hundred times."

"Bastard…" Naruto sighed. "Fine. I saw the Kyuubi's worst memory, being sealed by the Fourth. Except… there was something first. He was staring at a Sharingan, kind of mesmerized-like. I think an Uchiha was using an eye-technique on him… and it was making him really angry, and all he wanted to do was destroy the village. But while he was destroying everything, he couldn't get the Sharingan out of his head, and it was just making him angrier and angrier."

Just then, Harry would have given every galleon in his Gringotts vault to find out what the hell this _Kyuubi_ was. They alluded to it _so_ often, and about such serious matters… destroying the village? Sealing again? It sounded like a living monster! The thing that killed Naruto's parents, that lived along with Naruto. _What the hell was it_?

Harry thought he was about to go insane if he didn't find out soon.

"You think an Uchiha controlled it and made it attack the village?" clarified Sasuke, and Harry couldn't even begin to guess his emotions on the subject.

"That… was what it felt like. To him, at least. I don't know what really happened. But that's what I saw and felt through the memory. The Sharingan and sudden rage towards Konoha."

Sasuke was silent. Then he murmured wearily, "What else did you see?"

"I saw the Fourth," Naruto said it in a quiet rush, and Harry knew immediately that this was what had been bothering Naruto. Yes, he had noticed it along with Sakura. Harry was a master at lying, and Naruto was… not. At all. His smiles had been too wide all day, and his laughter and bantering had been quick in succession – forced. Naruto whispered, "He was even more amazing than Iruka-sensei said in our history classes. He… he gave the Kyuubi one look, and the Kyuubi just froze. From one look. No eye techniques or anything. He was just so… _incredible_."

"Obviously. He was the Fourth."

Harry suddenly got the impression this Fourth guy was something like the Wizarding world's Merlin himself. Or maybe like a young, just as powerful Dumbledore.

"…He knew he was going to die," whispered Naruto. "He knew it as soon as he picked me up. But he was just… unstoppable. There was nothing in the world that was going to stop him from saving our village."

"…Hn…"

"And… and I think… I think he was…"

When Naruto's nervous silence stretched, Sasuke sighed and deigned to ask, "He was what?"

Harry could hear Naruto's uneven breath. They were arriving at something even more incredible than seeing this hero firsthand, Harry guessed, and he could barely keep his own breath under control as he waited to hear.

"Promise you won't laugh, bastard."

"I don't laugh at anything, you idiot."

"I mean it, Sasuke," Naruto voice shook, and any impatience in Sasuke's tone died.

"Fine. I won't laugh," he said seriously. "What do you think the Fourth was?"

Naruto hesitated again. Then he said so quietly Harry had to strain to catch it, "I think the Fourth was my father."

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for all the great reviews! So, the story has finally caught up with me. I'm still working on chapter nine, but I should be done by next Friday. After that, the updates will probably slow down. Sorry! I'm a really busy college-ish student. But I'll do the best I can. And, for the record, reviews help. ;)**


	10. The Patronus

**Chapter 9: The Patronus**

_"I think the Fourth was my father."_

Sasuke kept his promise. He didn't laugh. He also didn't speak. He probably didn't even move, actually.

The silence started to develop cobwebs, blanketing them like statues.

And then Naruto started fidgeting. "He – he said he loved me," he elaborated in a rush. "And he wanted to see me grow up. And the way he held on to me… it was like he never wanted to let go, even… even when he died…. That's – that's like a dad, right? I think that's what a dad would be like…."

This silence was briefly shocked into existence.

"That's what a dad would be like," confirmed Sasuke in a whisper.

Harry lay, frozen by his own thoughts and sudden whooshing emotion.

Naruto didn't even know how a father should act. True, Harry hadn't known firsthand, but he had seen others interact with their parents, especially Ron with Mr. Weasley or Dudley and Vernon. But he remembered that Naruto had lived alone his entire life. He had no real experience…. Had he ever felt truly loved at _all_?

"Blond hair, blue eyes, apparently stubborn as all hell…" Sasuke muttered. "I suppose I can see it. It just means you got your… lack of… intelligence from your mother, then, because the Fourth was a genius."

"BASTARD, WHAT'D YOU SAY ABOUT MY MOTHER?"

They were silent for a few seconds as Dean stirred at the noise. When he calmed back down and the breathing patterns returned to normal, Sasuke muttered,

"Kidding. Stupidity isn't hereditary. Probably."

Naruto growled only for a few seconds before quieting down. Then he muttered, somber again, "My mother was killed by the Kyuubi. She was in the hospital when a tail smashed it. My – my father couldn't go back for her. He had to go straight to the front lines to save the village…. I… I didn't get to see her. But her name was Kushina. He asked her to forgive him before he died."

Sasuke didn't respond. Harry wondered if Sasuke's heart had clenched along with Harry's at this story. Then Harry wondered if Sasuke _had_ a heart.

_No_, he chided himself. This wasn't the time to be a smartass.

Naruto whispered, "I hate him."

"The Fourth?"

"Yeah. He sealed that thing in me, let my mother die, and then left me, too. I've never hated the Fourth before. But I didn't know what he had taken from me before."

Sasuke sighed before the quietness of the sleeping dorm could become silence again. He murmured patiently, "You don't hate him, Naruto. You're just angry."

"So you're allowed to hate your brother but I'm not allowed to hate my father?"

"My brother is a murderer," Sasuke said coldly, but in the same slow, patient tone. "Your father saved your life as well as the lives of everyone in the village. They're not comparable."

"Your brother spared your life," Naruto shot back. "Itachi's using you just like my father's using me by making me the vessel for his goddamn seal. Stop thinking you're the only one allowed to hate your family!"

Finally, pure, uninterrupted silence fell again.

Harry waited with bated breath. He was learning so much about them… and at the same time, all he wanted to do was sit up and join the conversation, convince Naruto his father loved him and Sasuke that hatred had to be overcome.

He got the feeling they wouldn't like finding out they'd been eavesdropped upon, though.

Then Sasuke said, "Hokages swear to protect the village and everyone in it. Hate your father for leaving you alone. Don't hate the Fourth for keeping his word. You would have done exactly the same in his place, and you know it, you morally rigid bastard."

Bitterness laced his tone, and Harry got the feeling Naruto was just as shocked as he was. Naruto actually affected Sasuke enough that he… _resented_ Naruto? For uncompromising _morality_? What the hell?

Before Harry could blow his cover and sit up and demand an explanation, however, Naruto asked softly, "You don't just hate Itachi, do you? You hate all your family…."

Harry heard an almost frustrated sigh from Sasuke's bed, and then the faint rustle of curtains being moved. For an instant, Naruto squawked, "Wha-? Oof!"

There was the sound of a body hitting a bed at deadweight, and then the rustling of curtains again.

"Anymore heart-to-hearts and I'm going to kill somebody," muttered Sasuke seemingly to himself, and then he got into his own bed and pulled his own curtains shut.

The dorm was silent until morning.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Hermione and Sakura were alone in the dorm for the night. Lavender and Parvati were consulting the stars with Professor Trelawney, so Hermione was reading and Sakura was in the shower.

Hermione glanced up over the top of her Ancient Runes book as Sakura made her way back from the bathroom. Her bubble gum hair was up in a towel, and she had her nightgown on. She bent down to her trunk to put away her toiletries, and just when Hermione was about to return her attention to the Ancient Runes book, she caught a glimpse of-

"Is that _Naruto_?"

Sakura's eyes shot towards the door in surprise and just a little outrage, but Hermione snapped her book closed and elaborated, "No, that photograph. And… Sasuke? Oh, my! You guys are so young!"

She got up from bed to sit down next to her new friend and peered into the trunk. Lying perfectly visible in a top compartment was the photograph of Team 7.

"May I?" asked Hermione.

Sakura laughed. "Yeah, go ahead. That was taken four years ago. We do look really different, don't we?"

Hermione held the picture up to the light and smiled at the faces. Naruto was on the right, wearing some unfortunate orange tracksuit type thing and growling over the top of Sakura's head towards the other boy – black hair, black eyes, dark shirt, Sasuke. Sasuke, adorably young, was scowling off in the opposite direction. Sakura knelt in the middle, her still-pink hair flowing past her shoulders, looking as though she were literally squealing with happiness.

"Who's that man?" asked Hermione curiously. He was an odd man with lopsided gray hair, but he wore their school emblem, so she might hazard a guess at him being a teacher. He was holding on to Naruto and Sasuke's heads in a fatherly gesture, but Hermione, who knew Naruto and Sasuke well enough, realized he was probably holding them apart to stop a brawl.

"That's one of our teachers, Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura, peering fondly at the picture over Hermione's shoulder. "We went on fieldtrips in groups of four, and he was our escort teacher."

"That was how you guys got to be friends, then? Doing fieldtrips together?"

"Yeah. Poor Kakashi-sensei. We fought so much at first. He dealt with a lot of shit from Naruto and Sasuke, and me and Naruto."

Hermione laughed. "I can imagine."

"We were a hundred times worse than anything you've seen from us now," pointed out Sakura, grinning.

Hermione blinked. "Okay, maybe I can't." She laughed again and then asked, "Why'd you cut your hair? It's beautiful long!"

Sakura shrugged. "It got to be a pain."

"I'm glad Naruto grew up. He was an awkward child, wasn't he?"

Sakura's laughter was too long to be decent. "Hell yeah, he was!"

"But Sasuke's been cute his entire life, hasn't he?" Hermione smiled slightly at the large, expressive black eyes.

"Without a doubt," confirmed Sakura, still grinning. "I wish I had his baby pictures, but he'd probably kill me for even thinking about it."

Hermione laughed again. "I can believe that. So tell me about Konoha. Like, normal everyday life there. I'm sorry we only pry about the traumatic side," she added with an ashamed blush.

Sakura brushed it aside. "It's okay. Let's see… normal Konoha…"

Hermione watched as Sakura's face flitted through emotions as she apparently recalled memories of her home. Some quirked smiles, a few somber frowns, an indecent cackle.

"Okay, life in Konoha. If a fieldtrip takes longer than two weeks, I'm allowed to wrangle Kakashi-sensei into girl talk and play with his hair."

Hermione eyed the one-eyed teacher again and decided he must not be as vaguely ominous as he looked.

"My best friend, Ino, worked in a flower shop, and she always knew the best gossip about who was dating who. But we fought like all hell over Sasuke. Actually, about thirty girls fought like hell over Sasuke, but he ignored us all at the Academy. Ever notice how he always sits in back corners of classrooms?"

"Yeah," said Hermione.

"It's habit. That way he only has to put up with two girls battling over the chairs near him instead of four."

Hermione laughed at the peculiar dilemma.

Sakura continued, "Naruto was a devious little prankster. Almost every day, the teachers were after him for causing some mayhem or another. Once, another teacher, Iruka-sensei, had to drag him back class when he'd been skipping and tie him up in the front of the classroom to make him stay."

Hermione laughed aloud at the mental image. Then she said, "Ron has two brothers, Fred and George, who were some of the biggest pranksters in Hogwarts' history. I bet if our teachers were allowed to tie up students to make them stay, they would have sat through a lot more classes."

Sakura grinned. "I'm glad they're not here this year, then. If they teamed up with Naruto, Hogwarts would be doomed."

Hermione laughed and nodded adamantly.

"But I have to admit, when me and Sasuke team up with him, we're pretty unstoppable, ourselves," Sakura admitted, looking a little guilty.

Hermione arched an eyebrow. "You and Sasuke pulled a prank with Naruto? I can't see that."

Sakura's guilty expression was slowly replaced by a lopsided grin. "I can't say I approved of the prank itself, but Naruto was really depressed, and Sasuke and I wanted to cheer him up. And goddamn, did it work. You'll have to ask Naruto to tell the story, though, because I'm sure I can't do it justice. But besides _that_ time, Kakashi-sensei is _always_ late, and he always gives these _lame_ excuses, so Naruto and I got back at him with a prank one time while Sasuke was…" her fond expression as she recalled the pranks suddenly faltered. She finished awkwardly, "…was gone."

Hermione had been listening with equal fondness and now let the expression fall, too. "Gone? You mean when he came to England?"

Sakura didn't meet her gaze. "Kind of." She smiled weakly and said, "I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind."

"Of course," said Hermione, backing off immediately.

She watched as Sakura nodded once in acknowledgment, still not looking at Hermione.

Hermione's expression softened as she noticed the glassy sheen that had come into Sakura's sea green eyes. She said quietly, "You really love him, don't you?"

The green eyes shut tightly, and Hermione saw the lashes glitter with moisture. "With all my heart," Sakura whispered.

Hermione felt the words pierce her own heart with the intensity, and she frowned in more sympathetic pain. "But he doesn't…?" she left the last words unsaid.

"No," breathed Sakura, a single tear breaking free from her lashes. "He doesn't."

Hermione nodded grimly, even though Sakura couldn't see it. She murmured, "I'm sorry."

The small smile that twisted Sakura's lips was bittersweet. "Me too."

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

"Why do you guys all look so tired?" asked Ron the next morning. He cheerfully shoved a whole sausage into his mouth and chomped away.

When Sasuke gave him the Evil Eye, he choked, and Harry had to beat his back to dislodge the meat.

"I don't know what you mean," said Hermione, picking up her Sunday Prophet and brandishing it open. She disappeared behind it.

Meanwhile, Harry said, "I thought we could at least work on the spell for the Patronus Charm today. What to have a go at it after breakfast?"

He looked to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, who all nodded enthusiastically.

So, half an hour later found the two trios in the Room of Requirement, which had changed into the usual D.A. meeting room for their use.

"Alright, so," began Harry, donning his 'teacher' voice out of habit. "The spell itself is pretty easy. It's just 'expecto patronum.' The only hard part about this spell is finding a happy enough memory. It's got to be powerful, meaningful, and the closer to your heart the better. And you've got to let that happiness fill you, even in the face of dementors. So, why don't you guys take a minute and come up with your memories; when you've got it, think really hard about it and say the incantation."

The trio nodded, but Harry frowned at their uncertain expressions.

"What?" he asked, beginning to feel uncertain himself. Had he said something wrong?

Sakura and Naruto blinked up at him then beamed. "Nothing, Harry-kun!" they chirped, though their eyes were anything but cheerful.

At length, they relaxed and seemed to concentrate on their memories.

Sasuke, however, continued frowning. Did any of them have happy memories that hadn't been tainted by some sadness or betrayal? He was suddenly finding all of his own… _impure_.

Naruto found his first. He cackled and lifted his wand. "_Expecto patronum_!"

Nothing.

Sasuke's smirk must have been audible, because Naruto turned and yelled, "Shut up, bastard! It's your fault that memory wasn't happy enough! You were in it!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Idiot. You're angry when I'm not there, too."

"DON'T USE YOUR STUPID LOGIC ON ME, ASSHOLE!"

Sasuke didn't respond. He 'hn'ed and returned to finding his own happy memory, and Naruto eventually calmed down and returned to his.

_Okay, what about when Father told me he was proud of me? No… then he told me not to follow in Itachi's steps… and technically I'll be killing our clan, too. What about some of the times Naruto did something hilarious and stupid? No… all I can think about is how I nearly killed him after that…. And now he's never really happy any more. No one is…._

After a few seconds of silence, Sakura raised her wand and said clearly, "_Expecto patronum_."

A stream of silver shot out, but it was shapeless.

"That's good!" said Harry bracingly. "And on your first try, too! You probably found a happy memory; now just try and make it more powerful."

She nodded, looking pleased, and started concentrating again.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned to Sasuke.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and treated them to his favorite Unimpressed Look. "What?"

"You're the only one who hasn't tried it, _genius_!" accused Ron, probably more affected by the Look than he should have been.

Sasuke gave a fractional shrug, appearing unconcerned. Was it really his fault his life sucked? Naruto couldn't think of anything good, either. _And it really is your fault…_

_Shut up!_

Suddenly, Naruto let out a gloriously delighted laugh. Without a word of explanation he pointed his wand at the ceiling and laughed, "_Expecto patronum_!"

At first, Sasuke thought it was the same shapeless stream as Sakura's. Then he realized that it wasn't streaming – it was flying. It was a hawk.

For reasons he couldn't explain, Sasuke's heart ached. And then he understood. When he realized what a snake pit he had been living in, Sasuke's only thought had been the air. He had wanted more than anything to fly. Fly, faster than the memories holding him to the ground, with sight that could see miles and miles below, farther than any Sharingan. He had wanted to be above it all, all the pain and anger and rage and _hatred_ and just soar above it _all_. He had wanted to leave the snakes for the hawks.

But Naruto was the flier. On broomsticks and in spirit, apparently. And he was Sasuke's opposite, his rival. _So I'll never be able to… fly…?_

Naruto was grinning in Sasuke's peripheral vision, happily accepting Sakura, Harry, Ron, and Hermione's enthusiastic praise, and Sasuke tried not to let it get to him. But here it was, Naruto beating him again. Naruto, who found love and happiness in the unlikeliest places, who found friendship and bonds everywhere he turned, who could _fly_… always beat Sasuke, who was stuck on the ground with nothing but snakes and the blood of his family.

And then Naruto cocked his head over to Sasuke. He glanced up at the hawk, which still soared as if the air was its very own essence, and then back at Sasuke. His expression was the serious one Sasuke saw whenever he was making heartfelt speeches in the midst of battle. But Naruto simply stated, "You know, it kind of reminds me of you."

Sasuke was pretty sure someone had a heart attack.

Oh, was that himself? Okay, that made sense.

While Harry, Ron, and Hermione started varying versions of, "What? How do you work that one out? You must be crazy!" Sasuke only met Naruto's eyes, his question obvious.

Naruto's vibrant blue eyes were warm, teasing, and had that same serious conviction that could convince an assassin swordsman of the Mist to cry.

Sasuke bowed his head fractionally in understanding and gratitude. Naruto smiled just as wordlessly.

Sometimes, Sasuke supposed, a shinobi could speak without words and even without fighting.

"EVERYBODY, FREEZE!" Sakura yelled so loudly, even Naruto cringed.

She was glaring at Naruto and Sasuke. "You two don't say a word and screw this up! I'm using that as my happy memory!"

They stared.

She ignored them. Her expression was radiant, thinking of the only time she'd ever seen her two friends act like real brothers without speaking and screwing it up. "_Expecto patronum!_"

The stream of incandescent silver flowed like a waterfall from the tip of her wand. Except… it also went upwards.

Another hawk, smaller and more graceful than Naruto's joined the first. They flew together for a few loops, then separated in a beautiful show of flying skill.

"That's… kind of odd," said Harry after a second of silence. "Are hawks… very significant in your culture?"

Sasuke redoubled his guard walls as Naruto and Sakura both shot only vaguely conspicuous glances his way.

"Only one," said Sakura.

Sasuke didn't look at her. "Hmph."

"Are these supposed to be animals that represent something important to us?" Sakura queried, her academic interest shining through.

"Sometimes," confirmed Harry. "Like, mine is a stag, and my father could transform into a stag when he was alive. Since Patroni are supposed to protect us, sometimes they're animals who represent someone that would protect us or just someone we love a lot."

_Not blushing. Never. This is stupid. We should be working on finding out what Akatsuki's up to, not learning some stupid spell we'll never use anyway…_

"How about you try it, Sasuke?" suggested Harry. "Have you got a good memory, yet?"

_Damn. _"Not quite."

Harry and Hermione's expression flickered into something resembling pity. Sasuke tried not to pull out one of the kunai hidden in his robes.

Shinobi rule number three: Never kill your clients.

Shinobi rule number three… shinobi rule number three… shinobi rule number three…

"You can use mine!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air.

Sasuke tried not to sigh at the stupidity. "Naruto, I don't think it works that way."

"This one does!" Naruto insisted. "You actually laughed out loud in it!"

"…I doubt I've laughed aloud since I met you. And that's probably no coincidence."

"Bastard," growled Naruto, but his glare was ruined when he returned to grinning. "Hey, hey, hey – remember what the three of us did a few months ago? Like, two weeks before we started going here? Remember, remember?"

"We did a lot of things two weeks before we started here," said Sasuke shortly.

"With Tsunade… and the monument… and then the ANBU…."

Sasuke couldn't help it. He chuckled, remembering.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione had heart attacks. Sakura sighed long-sufferingly.

Naruto immediately launched into the story, but Sasuke tuned him out. He closed his eyes and focused on the memory.

It had been the week following Gaara's kidnapping, and Naruto had been depressed about being a hunted jinchuuriki. Sasuke, still not used to the slightly-mature, capable of depression Naruto, had had enough. He recalled the prankster twelve year old and made his decision. He called a team meeting (minus Kakashi, even though Sasuke had the feeling Kakashi had found out and eavesdropped, anyway) and explained their new "mission." Because Sasuke never pulled pranks. And this would require jounin level skills, anyway, if not ANBU.

Naruto had been jubilant, and Sakura had caved once she saw how happy it made Naruto.

At four in the morning, the three had snuck past the chuunin and ANBU guards at the Hokage Tower, employing the absolute best stealth skills any of them had yet displayed. They made it to Tsunade's personal chambers and had stolen… well, a few personal items right from under the Hokage's sleeping little nose. They pulled out of the tower with the same miraculous stealth, and if Kakashi was watching as Sasuke suspected, he would have been damn proud of his cute little genins… and chuunin. He was sure no enemy shinobi had ever managed to do that.

When dawn lit Konoha, the citizens woke up to find each Hokage face on the mountain supporting an enormous bra beneath his regal chin. Sasuke might have even ventured to point out the bras were so big, they almost looked natural under the stories-tall faces.

The ANBU had only caught up with the perpetrators when the alluded were laughing too hard to continue running.

Sasuke's ears were still ringing from that particular scream-fest from his dear Hokage. He might have listened a little more if Kakashi had quit giggling at the pictures he had taken of the "new and improved monument," which he had cleverly tucked into the pages of his Icha Icha novels.

Still smirking at the memory, Sasuke raised his arm. "_Expecto patronum._"

Silver flew from the tip of his wand… and landed on the ground.

His Patronus wasn't a hawk.

His Patronus was a weasel.

Naruto, Harry, and Ron stopped laughing over the bra story. Sakura breathed, "Oh, my."

Sasuke stared. The weasel stood on its hind legs and stared back. It cocked its head to the side, considering Sasuke much too intelligently for an animal.

Sasuke closed his eyes.

He let his wand clatter to the floor.

"That's it," he muttered, turning to the door. "I quit."

"What's wrong with weasels?" demanded Ron as Sasuke's hand grabbed the doorknob and twisted.

Sasuke heard Sakura's whispered answer even as he opened the door and slammed it behind him. "Itachi… is Japanese for 'weasel.'"

…

Harry watched Sasuke sweep from the room with more than a little bafflement. So… his Patronus would have him believe Itachi was protecting him? Even Harry admitted that that was a sick trick to play on somebody.

He sighed, only distantly listening to Sakura and Hermione converse in whispers, and bent down to pick up Sasuke's wand. He'd probably want it back when he calmed down.

He'd never really taken note of Sasuke's wand before, but now that he did… he seriously doubted it came from Ollivander's. It was pitch black with areas of inconspicuous, razor-sharp thorns, which only protruded millimeters but promised a good cut to anyone oblivious.

Frowning, he took the handle – the only safe place – and gasped as his scar exploded in pain.

He barely registered Ron, Hermione, Sakura, and Naruto stop their discussion to ask him what was wrong; he only registered that the wand fell from his fingers, and the pain correspondingly stopped.

He opened his eyes to find himself on the ground, crouched over, hands clinging to his face.

"Harry!" repeated Hermione, suddenly only inches from his face. He felt her hand on his shoulder. "Harry, what is it?"

Harry took a moment to breathe and collect himself. He eyed the wand, which lay innocently several feet away. "That wand," he panted after a few seconds. "Where the hell did he get that?"

His question was directed to Sakura and Naruto, who hovered nearby anxiously. They stared at him, taken aback by the question.

Sakura looked from the fallen wand to Harry's strained face. "I don't really know. Why? What's wrong with it?"

"My scar only hurts when Voldemort is near, or when he's concentrating on something," said Harry, trying to keep the pained shake out of his voice. "That wand made my scar practically explode. What does it have to do with Voldemort?"

Sakura and Naruto blinked at him again.

"Ano, Harry-kun, are you sure it wasn't just-" began Sakura, but he cut her off with,

"I'm sure! It stopped as soon as I dropped that wand! Now, what does Sasuke have to do with Voldemort?" His voice had risen to a shout, and Hermione backed off in shock.

He ground his teeth together, trying to collect himself. He didn't need a repeat of last year, when he had been so angry he had nearly destroyed their friendship.

"Look," he said at length. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to accuse you guys. But if you know something about Voldemort – _anything_ – then I need to know. I'm the one that's got to fight him in the end. I've got to have all the information and help I can get, or else, I'm dead and Voldemort wins. That's how it is."

He was sure he didn't imagine Naruto and Sakura's guilty looks. But they were silent.

He sighed and shook his head. "Fine. Whatever. Keep your secrets. But somebody else get Sasuke's wand because I can't fucking touch it." It came out more aggressively than he originally intended, but he kind of liked the effect. Naruto and Sakura winced and shared a pained, uncertain glance.

Ron gave Harry a hand up. He, Harry, and Hermione walked out the door, leaving Naruto and Sakura to flounder in their indecision.

It had started off as such a good day, Sakura noted as the door snapped shut. How had it suddenly gone so wrong?

She bent down and picked up Sasuke's wand, feeling a slight thrum of chakra – dark, sinister chakra – tingle his fingertips. "Naruto… where _did_ Sasuke get this wand?"

Naruto shrugged, still watching the door with a troubled expression. She knew strained friendships always hurt him the most.

She sighed and muttered, "Come on. We can't leave Harry alone for too long."

Naruto nodded distractedly. Suddenly, Sakura wondered if Naruto had been worrying about their friendship with Harry, Ron, and Hermione at all. After all, Sasuke had disappeared through that same door, too.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

The following weeks were tough. Harry and Sasuke had taken to ignoring each other, though they usually stayed in close proximity because of Naruto and Sakura's refusal to give up the friendship/mission. Harry's expression darkened every time he saw the black wand in class or otherwise, though, and conversations tended to fall flat for the next half hour. Sasuke didn't care. He had taken to brooding over Itachi and tended to snap everyone's heads off for the smallest of interruptions.

Naruto, who tried to continue to be his usual cheerful self to both parties, took most of the heat. Not that he took it lying down, of course. His and Sasuke's shouting matches were quickly becoming legendary. After all, Naruto and Sasuke had been honing their insulting abilities for _years_ and had developed immunities to anything not outrageously graphic. It wasn't uncommon for spectators to rush off in tears over some of the more vicious insults, and a few first years even threw up or fainted over the most graphic ones.

Sakura just thanked God they had the restraint to not use ninjutsu on each other in front of the students. And they didn't even reveal vital information. They just insulted each other to the absolute epitome of their abilities and then stomped away in rage.

It was after one of these matches that Naruto agreed to go to the library with Harry. It was late in the evening, and Hermione had tailed Sakura to volunteer in the hospital wing. Sasuke had stormed out of the tower, probably to go train in the forest, like he always did.

"Why are you guys even friends?" demanded Harry in frustration as they walked through the corridors. This most recent roasting had consisted of certain family members and ancestors popping like fried slugs in their own boiling excrements, thoroughly grossing out ninety-five percent of Gryffindor tower – and probably Ravenclaw tower just a little distance away, too.

Naruto shrugged, already chipper again. "Insulting is fun," he chirped. "Anyone else would just ignore me if I insulted them, though, or try and beat me up and leave. But Sasuke takes the time and energy to insult me back. Awesome, right?"

Harry just sighed. "You're off your rocker."

"That was weak," Naruto informed him somberly. "You need to add in something about my mother and some sort of rotting flesh or maggots."

Harry couldn't help but chuckle. "That's disgusting."

"And effective," Naruto agreed brightly.

Harry laughed.

They came to a section of flights of stairs and waited for one to approach them. Naruto distantly noted that he'd never seen this part of the castle so deserted. A flight of stairs slid in front of them and they boarded, waiting for it to take them across the open space to the other side of the fourth floor.

And that's when Naruto noticed Sasuke walking on the first floor, starting to bypass the hall of stairs. He frowned. Sasuke was still wearing his dark winter cloak, but if he'd been out in the forest training, why would he be back inside so soon? Surely he hadn't destroyed _all_ of the trees yet?

"Oi, bastard!" he called. "What are you doing back so-"

'Sasuke' turned around.

Naruto's reflexes took over. He shoved Harry behind him and leapt onto the banister of the stairs, kunai in hand and crouched in a defensive position. "You! What the hell are you doing here, you murderous fuck? And where's you're little boyfriend hiding? Trying to ambush us?"

"Naruto, what-?" began Harry, trying to see around the blond. His eyes widened. "That can't be!"

Itachi's slender eyebrow arched, but his expression remained miraculously indifferent. Sasuke would have been jealous. "Infamous here, too, I see," he murmured, his deep voice carrying across the distance effortlessly. Before Naruto could make some angry comeback, he continued, "You may put down your kunai, Uzumaki Naruto. I am not here to hurt anyone."

"Or _kidnap_ anyone?" grumbled Naruto, not letting down his guard a fraction.

"Or kidnap anyone," the murderer agreed inflexionlessly.

Harry decided he missed something, because one second Itachi Uchiha was standing three floors below them, and the next, a cloud of ravens appeared out of nowhere and there stood Itachi Uchiha right beside Harry, looking just as impassive as before.

Naruto leapt back from the banister to land between Itachi and his charge, shoving Harry behind him again.

"Naruto, what the hell are you doing?" demanded Harry, pushing Naruto so that they were facing Itachi side-by-side. "You don't have to protect me! I've survived Voldemort, remember?"

Harry remembered too late what Sasuke had said about Itachi and Voldemort's leagues. He felt his heart freeze in shock, but surprisingly, Itachi didn't particularly react.

His eyes roamed over the portraits on this floor with little interest as he said, "Please don't compare me to Voldemort. He's such an annoyance."

Harry stared. Finally Itachi looked back at him, and Harry had a split second to analyze his features for the first time.

His first thought was incredulity: Itachi couldn't be older than _Percy Weasley_, twenty or twenty-one, _tops_. And he had slaughtered his family eight or nine years ago? Bloody fucking hell.

His second thought was that Sasuke's eyes were a little bigger, a little darker, but Itachi's lashes were longer, making his eyes seem almost feminine. Itachi was a few inches taller than his brother, but not quite as tall as Ron, and his black hair hung long and tame compared to Sasuke's wild locks. Besides that, though, the brothers had the same nose… same lips and chin… same slender eyebrows and pale skin. Same poise that suggested centuries of noble breeding. Same condescending, indifferent gaze. Harry understood how Naruto had mistaken them not once, but twice now.

And then Naruto shouted, "Harry, don't look into his eyes! Sharingan, you idiot!"

Harry snapped his eyes shut, but he felt like an idiot for both looking in the first place and closing his eyes like a little kid facing a monster he didn't believe was real.

"I will not use my Sharingan on you unless you force me," said Itachi calmly. "I only want to talk with you."

"What could you possibly have to say, you bastard?" snarled Naruto, and Harry wondered if he could open his eyes yet. He did and found that Naruto hadn't closed his eyes at all. He stopped the flush he could feel coming. He must have looked like an idiot.

Still, he avoided looking at Itachi's face again.

"You recognize the power of the Sharingan," began Itachi, watching Naruto, "and you're still prepared to fight me? Surely you know only another Sharingan would have a chance against me."

"What's your point, bastard?" snarled Naruto.

Itachi continued watching him for another second. Then he said, "You aren't running to Sasuke. Is it because you're afraid he'll leave again if he finds out where I am?"

"Like I'd tell _you_ something like that, you murderer!"

Again, Itachi took a moment watching Naruto before speaking. After those seconds, he said, "I need to know, Uzumaki-kun, why my brother returned. It may mean the survival of Konoha."

Naruto scowled, and Harry wondered what the hell they were talking about. "And I told you I'm not telling you anything!"

"Uzumaki-kun, did he come back for power, perhaps training from Kakashi-san, or… something else?"

Naruto continued scowling. At Itachi's unrelenting gaze, however, he growled, "He doesn't need any more power to kill you. He's already strong enough after Orochimaru-bastard."

Itachi watched Naruto silently for several seconds. Harry noticed that Naruto didn't quite meet his eyes, although it was so close he wouldn't have noticed if he were standing any farther away.

Breaking the silence, Itachi asked in a slower, more weighted voiced, "You would die for my brother. Would he give up his revenge… to return the favor?"

Naruto, though still glaring, faltered. "…What?"

Itachi glanced at Naruto's hand, where Dumbledore's translation smiley face grinned back. "English is easiest for you while that spell is in effect, correct?"

"Yeah…. What's you're point?"

Itachi, Harry thought, might have sighed. Indeed, if he were Sasuke, he would probably be pinching the bridge of his nose right now.

"He means: Would Sasuke give up killing Itachi if it meant saving your life?" Harry said, used to Naruto's occasional simplified wording needs. He paused in mortification when he realized he had just helped Itachi Uchiha. This was just _surreal_.

"I KNOW WHAT HE MEANT!" Naruto snapped, though it wasn't convincing. Then his face tightened as he thought about it. At length, he grumbled, "It doesn't matter. He won't need to save me. You should be worrying about yourself, you bastard! You're crazier than they say if you think he'll lose to you again!"

Itachi's unyielding expression didn't change. His eyes drifted behind them as he murmured, "Perhaps."

_Perhaps? No arrogant comeback or… anything?_ It wasn't how Harry had pictured the infamous Itachi Uchiha. And judging from Naruto's expression… that wasn't what he had expected, either.

"There is a member of Akatsuki you must keep away from Sasuke at all costs," continued Itachi as if he'd never slipped in his image. "He wears an orange mask. If you value Konoha, or Sasuke, at all, you will make sure they never have the chance to speak. Do you understand, Uzumaki-kun?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "What do you care about either of them? You're a traitor to both!"

Itachi's eyes met Naruto's directly, intently. And then he lifted a hand in a fixed gesture to his chest.

Naruto seemed torn between anger and something Harry didn't recognize. When the ravens reappeared surrounding Itachi, the unfamiliar side won.

"Wait!" Naruto called, stepped forward into the battering wings. Itachi, half vanished in the black flock, turned scarlet eyes to him, hand still fixed in that gesture. "You and Kisame haven't told Akatsuki I'm here – you were crying that night you killed your clan – and Sasuke's Patronus is a weasel. What the hell is going on? What are you up to?"

Maybe it was the confusion of the swarming birds, but for a split second, Harry thought he saw a faint smile on Itachi's lips. But then it was gone, and Itachi murmured, "Make no mistake, Naruto-kun. I hated my family. But it is not yet time for that truth. I will see you again."

When the birds scattered through the many windows, Itachi was gone, and Naruto stood frowning, dagger held limply by his side.

Harry let the shock engulf them in silence for only a few moments. And then he demanded, "What the bloody hell is going on? What was that about? And what is that?" he pointed at the dagger.

Naruto continued staring at the spot Itachi had disappeared, frowning. He said quietly, "Harry…" he turned to Harry, who saw the bright blue eyes blazing with steady determination. "Don't tell Sasuke."

* * *

**A/N: This is starting to get fun. =D Anyways, thank you all my great reviewers! You guys totally rock; I'm really ecstatic about the response this story is getting. Thank you so much! And remember how I said I might change the summary? I'm thinking about changing the title, too. "Tangled Webs" was a last resort; trust me, I hate clichés. But I'll definitely let you know what it'll be before I choose it. And I definitely won't change the summary and title at the same time. .**

**Anyways, please review!**


	11. Ninjas

**A/N: Hey guys! Let's assume Naruto started working on his elemental chakra when Sasuke returned, but he's only just gotten started, and he isn't using the mass shadow clone technique. **

**Chapter 10: Ninjas**

Harry didn't like the idea of Naruto carrying around sharp objects or jumping onto handrails three stories above the ground. Somehow, those things in combination with the exuberant blond just seemed to spell trouble and a lot of accidental pain.

When he demanded to know what the heck was going on, though, Naruto brushed it aside with, 'learned it at Konoha Academy.'

Harry didn't know how they managed it, but the next time they saw Sasuke, they didn't immediately launch into the story.

Naruto twitched a little more than usual, but Sasuke seemed to put it off as him just being an idiot. Harry was a better liar and just continued avoiding Sasuke, as if because of his wand and questionable connection to Voldemort. Which brought back genuine anger and made his act even better.

But Harry had also promised not to tell Ron and Hermione. Naruto had begged, seeming convinced that Ron couldn't keep a secret to save his life. Harry begged to differ, but he also saw Naruto's point. Ron and Sasuke just didn't get along. Ron might let it slip in a fit of rage. And he couldn't tell Hermione, because she would try and prod for more information and maybe inadvertently make Sasuke ask his own questions. He wondered if Naruto told Sakura. Seeing Sakura's usual interaction with Sasuke made him think she didn't know, though.

"Why don't you want Sasuke to know, though?" Harry demanded in a low voice one night. They were doing homework in the common room while the others were playing Exploding snap (Ron and Hermione) or Shogi (Sakura and Sasuke). "Doesn't he have a right?"

"No," snapped Naruto, not looking up from his own essay. "You don't understand how he gets. Just forget about it."

The rest of November passed without much change. The only thing of interest happened one Thursday morning and came with the owl post.

While Hermione got her usual Daily Prophet, a small hawk soared toward Sakura.

She looked up without surprise, and let it land on her robed arm. She stroked its neck a few times before taking off the small scroll attached to its leg. "We use hawks instead of owls," she commented to the trio's bemused looks. Then she returned to the hawk. "Can you stay in the owlery for a little while in case I need to send a response?"

The hawk let out a shrill 'caw' and flew off, supposedly towards the owlery.

Sakura unrolled her scroll and scanned the lines, brow furrowed as she concentrated on overriding the translation spell.

Then her eyes widened. "Oh, my God," she murmured, catching everyone's attention.

"What is it, what is it?" asked Naruto, leaning across the table towards her, his eyes huge. "Did something bad happen? What happened?"

"A-Akatsuki," she breathed, eyes still ravaging the page. Her face was pale. Her hands shook. "Oh, God…."

"_Sakura_!" said Naruto and Sasuke in unison. While Naruto went on to demand in a voice slightly too high, "What happened?" Sasuke snatched the scroll out of her hands. She blinked at him, still lost in her own shock over the news, and didn't protest.

Sasuke's eyes took in everything within seconds. He informed Naruto in Japanese, "_It's from Tsunade-sama. Asuma-sensei, Shikamaru, and two chuunin fought two Akatsuki members on the border. Immortals. Asuma-sensei was killed, and the others retreated. Team Ten went back after them – joined by Kakashi-sensei. They defeated them within reason, but Kakashi-sensei, Ino, and Chouji are in critical condition. Tsunade-sama thinks Kakashi-sensei and Chouji will be alright, although Kakashi might be awhile in backing us up. Ino's condition is the worst. Her body took some bad hits during her attempted mind transfers. Apparently, Shikamaru took on one member alone and wasn't there to protect her like he usually does._"

He passed the scroll back to Sakura and returned to his breakfast. Naruto gaped at him, eyes wide and unseeing.

Sakura stared at him as if he had grown another head. "You just learned," she forced out in a strangled voice, "that Asuma-sensei died, and the others might not make it… and you're eating breakfast?"

Sasuke glanced up at her, and his generally uninterested expression reminded Harry forcibly of Itachi.

"Tell me, Healer-taichou," he said quietly, "will my fasting bring back the dead? Or should I, perhaps, cry and see if my tears have magical healing properties for the others? This is war, Sakura. People die, and people are hurt. If you don't like it, you're in the wrong profession."

Sakura stared at him, still as though she couldn't quite see him. "Oh?" she whispered at last. "So you _like_ it? Well, _did you fucking like it when your family were the ones dying and getting hurt_?" Her voice had risen to a scream, and suddenly she was on her feet, tears streaming from her eyes. "_Well, did you, Sasuke?_ Maybe you don't know what it's like to lose a best friend, but I do, and I never want to go through that again, you goddamn bastard! Don't you dare tell me how to act! I'll panic if I want, and I'll go all the way back to Konoha to heal her myself if I have to! I'm not losing anyone again!"

With that, she turned and fled the Great Hall, leaving every student staring after her.

Hermione sighed and began to get to her feet, but Naruto held up his hand to stop her. "No, let me," he murmured. "She's not just crying about her friend anymore." He shot Sasuke a dark look and finished, "Now it'll be about some bastard who left us."

He stood and took off after Sakura.

There was silence in their wake.

Harry couldn't stop himself from asking coldly, "Do you have _any_ redeeming qualities?" He knew he wouldn't have reacted so indifferently if he had to tell Ron and Hermione that someone like McGonagall had been killed, and some of their graduated friends might not live.

Sasuke didn't look up from the Prophet he had somehow, sometime, swiped from Hermione, as he responded, "My good looks." At their astounded looks, he sighed. "Look, Naruto and Sakura knew the people a lot better than I did. Naruto frequently went to the teacher for extra help, and one of the girls was a very good friend of Sakura's. All I saw in them was a persistent stalker and a man who smokes like a chimney." Pause. "_Smoked_… like a chimney."

"I heard 'Kakashi-sensei,'" said Hermione, giving him a concerned frown. "Sakura told me that was your personal teacher for fieldtrips. Surely you care about him?"

Sasuke stared at her for a split second, surprised by her knowledge. Then he looked away expressionlessly. "Kakashi will be fine."

"You can't possibly know that," Hermione countered. "Not if Sakura is as upset as she is."

"_He will be_," Sasuke snapped, throwing a lethal glare her way.

Hermione's eyes softened despite his glare, and Sasuke thought she suddenly understood more than she should have.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Sasuke's good looks weren't so useful when Christmas approached. Overnight, the corridors were hung with tinsel and mistletoe; suits of armor donned wreathes, and great pine trees sprouted up in the corners of the Great Hall. Snowed piled up outside the windows, and Naruto had way too much fun throwing it at people to be considered sixteen years old.

"What is it with girls crowding that stupid mistletoe?" muttered Sasuke angrily as he was forced to go out of his way to bypass what looked like ninety percent of the female population, all crowded under one cluster of mistletoe. They swarmed the next one, trying to keep pace with him, Naruto, Sakura, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were trying to get to class.

"You don't know the mistletoe tradition?" asked Hermione, surprised. She stopped to scowl at a girl who tripped her, probably jealous of her talking to Sasuke.

"Tradition?" asked Sasuke, as Naruto and Sakura perked up as well.

"Well…" began Hermione, "it's tradition that when two people stand under mistletoe, they have to kiss."

Sasuke looked vaguely disgusted. "_That's_ what this is about? Fitting that it's mistletoe… a goddamn parasite…. Ridiculous…."

"And you really need to watch out what you eat or drink for a while," Hermione continued. "You, too, Harry and Naruto. I overhear girls talking about slipping love potions in your drinks every day, now. They'll keep at it until you pick girls to take to Slughorn's Christmas party."

"Christmas party?" repeated Harry, while Naruto looked stunned that he had been included. "Why haven't I heard about this?"

"Because you keep scheduling Quidditch practice during his dinners," grumbled Hermione, sending an intense glare at a second year girl as she was tripped again. "But he specifically asked for you to choose the date for the Christmas party. He's determined to have you – all of you," she added to Sasuke and Naruto. "And we're supposed to bring dates."

"And this is just for the _Slug Club_, is it?" glowered Ron, more bitter than ever at the attention focused on the other three boys.

"Well, yes, but…"

"They're not that bad," added Sakura to Harry's disgruntled look. "Hermione and I actually have fun sometimes."

"Hey, Sakura-chan, do you have a date yet?" asked Naruto, turning and walking backwards so he could face her with big, glittering blue eyes.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun, do you want-?" began Sakura.

"No."

"No, Naruto," she sighed. "I don't."

"_Pleeeeeease_, go with me?" he asked, turning the eyes on Full Adorable Puppy-Dog mode. "Pretty, pretty please, with sugar, and ice-cream, and ramen, and cherries, and milk on top?"

"Ramen… and milk?"

"Yeah," said Naruto, and his eyes went starry. "Sounds delicious, doesn't it?"

"Naruto, that's gross."

"Please, before the fangirls get me!" he paused and mused, "Man, Sasuke, is it always this fun? That was, like, the coolest line I've ever said in my life, and I say some pretty awesome things."

"Just wait until the fangirls actually get you," muttered Sasuke, eyeing some of the nearest ones, appearing distantly traumatized. "Then you won't laugh the next time you say that."

"And I'm still mad at for you that, by the way," Sakura grumbled to Naruto, suddenly glaring.

Naruto blinked. "For what? I haven't pissed you off in weeks! Um… much…."

"You stole Sasuke's first kiss! I was going to do that!"

Sasuke and Naruto stopped in their tracks, causing Harry, Ron, and Hermione to crash into them. They were both beet red as they shouted, "SAKURA! NEVER - AGAIN! WHY WOULD YOU-?"

Ron was green. "Bloody hell, you two are-?"

"NO!" Again, they bellowed it in unison, still bright crimson.

"Some asshole knocked Naruto into Sasuke when they were standing face-to-face," growled Sakura, still glaring at Naruto and beginning to crack her knuckles.

Naruto made a small squeaking noise and sprinted the rest of the way to class.

Sasuke muttered something about needing to brush his teeth again and headed back to the Gryffindor tower. The mob of females took off after him, still trying to trap him under the mistletoe. Naturally, he evaded them only a little effort.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Dumbledore watched the three shinobi before his desk thoughtfully. They had given him updates at the end of every month, and now they appeared before him just as December began, Naruto lounging in a chair, Sakura standing at attention, and Sasuke hanging back indifferently.

He thought about his most recent visit from Itachi – last month, the first time he'd seen the man in almost a decade – and wondered if Itachi knew exactly what unstoppable force he was setting into motion. Sure, they didn't look like much on the surface, but Dumbledore could feel it in the very air surrounding them. The magic linked them, unbroken, though they felt as if it had, unbreakable, though they didn't understand just yet. The magic, life, pulsed through them and came out stronger for having touched them. These three… did Itachi really know what he was messing with? Did he have any right to do this to them?

But Sakura was speaking, asking about the Christmas break, and he had to play his part.

"Well, I believe it best if we say you three are returning to Konoha for the holidays," said Dumbledore. "And I would like the three of you to guard Harry and the Weasleys at the Burrow. I shall tell Arthur and Molly that I've hired three ninjas for protection. They'll trust my decision, and you'll be free to use chakra instead of your wands."

"But Ron hasn't invited us," pointed out Sakura. "Won't Harry and Ron find it fishy if we show up and his parents welcome us when they haven't even mentioned us?"

"We'll use disguises," said Sasuke, who was now stroking Fawkes' silky neck. The phoenix seemed to enjoy the attention. Dumbledore supposed they had an alliance in fire. "ANBU styled masks should work instead of a genjutsu or henge that will be a constant drain on our chakra – especially since the one of us with unlimited chakra can't even _do_ genjutsu–" he ignored Naruto's angry retort and finished, "although we might consider a potion to alter our distinctive hair colors and styles. And a shadow clone fourth member, so our numbers aren't suspiciously coincidental."

"An excellent plan," agreed Dumbledore. "I might, however, suggest short henges if you go out in public. Masks are not taken well, here, I'm afraid."

Sasuke gave a short nod. "Not a problem."

Naruto grimaced. "Harry's not going to like this."

Dumbledore treated them to twinkling eyes, and the ninjas sighed.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

"Ninjas? _Ninjas_?" repeated Harry, thrashing the parchment around in air when he finished it. "Is he _serious_?"

"What does it say?" asked Hermione blinking in surprise at the outburst. They were sitting around the fireplace a week before the Christmas party and subsequent break when Ginny had handed Harry a letter from Dumbledore. "What about ninjas?"

"Dumbledore… has assigned four ninjas… to come with us to the Burrow," said Harry through clenched teeth. "I didn't even think ninjas were real – and now I'm going to be stuck with four of them following me around a house! A single house!"

"Ninjas? Real ninjas?" repeated Hermione, still trying to ascertain how serious he was about that term. "Oh, my God, Harry, that's incredible! I read about the Hidden Continent for _weeks_ in our third year; it's absolutely phenomenal!"

"Wait – ninjas are real?" asked Ron, looking up from his essay, his sugar quill halfway in his mouth. "When did that happen? I thought they were right up there with the Beatle and the Bard stories."

"The _what_?"

"Fairy tales," said Ron. "So does that mean they're real, too?"

"I seriously doubt it," said Hermione. "_Anyway_, the ninjas approached magic from a different standpoint altogether. Instead of drawing trace amounts of magic from their magical cores and directing it through wands like we do, they use chakra, like Sakura's healing technique. Except they use chakra for a lot more than healing. It's unknown exactly how powerful they became through that method, but it's said a single ninja could defeat an entire battalion of Wizarding Aurors."

"If they're so powerful, then why don't we hear more about them?" grumbled Ron. "They haven't been seen for hundreds of years, I'd warrant."

"Well, they hid themselves. Their entire continent, actually," said Hermione, practically bouncing in her seat. "No one knows exactly where it is anymore. The ninjas were said to focus their magic on battle techniques, and they hired out their services as mercenaries. But the rest of the world started abusing their culture, getting them caught in the middle of politics, killing each other in masses because their clients were fighting wars. So they withdrew from our world to preserve themselves and their way of life. I can't _imagine_ what kind of strings Dumbledore had to pull to get them here after that kind of isolation. He must be really concerned for you, Harry." She paused and added, "I'm so jealous I can't come see them. But my parents wanted so much to see me this Christmas…. I would ask you to get pictures, but I doubt they'd fall for that…."

Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione thought she saw Sasuke step on his foot. It was difficult to tell with the robes, but Naruto eventually shut his mouth and pouted.

"Still," said Harry, not noticing anything. "Four ninjas… following me around all Christmas."

"At least he didn't go with four battalions of Aurors, mate," pointed out Ron. "Mum would have had a heart attack trying to feed them all a Christmas feast."

Harry couldn't help but snort.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

The morning before the Christmas party and the day before they left for break found both trios in the common room. Some trying to do homework, others trying to get dates for that night.

Harry had already asked Luna, and Hermione had invited Ron, all under the guise of 'as friends,' though anyone would have to be blind not to notice Ron and Hermione blush and smile every few seconds afterwards.

Meanwhile…

"Pleeeeease, Sakura-chan?"

"No. Sasuke-kun, are you sure-?"

"I'm sure."

"Sakura-chan…."

"Naruto, I swear to God…. I promise I'll make it as painless as possible, Sasuke-kun…."

"No. I'm not going."

"But you have to!"

"If Slughorn thinks he can drag me down there by force, I'd love to see him try."

"Come on! We could go as friends, rather than you and some girl you don't even know or like!"

"Or you could just go with me…."

"-the fuck are you trying to say, Idiot?"

"Not you, Bastard! Sakura!"

"Naruto… if I have to tell you one more time…"

"Sakura, just go with the idiot before he propositions me again."

"I DID NOT 'PROPOSITION' YOU, WHATEVER THAT MEANS, YOU BASTARD!"

"Erm, Sakura, Naruto, Sas-Sasuke," stammered a new voice, and they turned to find a first year holding a scroll towards them. "Professor Dumbledore wanted me to give you this…."

Sakura took it, and the first year scampered away. She unrolled it and announced, "Dumbledore wants to see us in his office. We're starting back to Konoha today to make up for the time difference." She turned back to Sasuke and Naruto. "Come on, let's grab some stuff and go home!"

"Have fun, you guys!" sang Hermione as they stood to leave. "I hope your friends and teacher are doing better! Have a safe trip!"

"Thanks! See you later!" Sakura chirped back.

They disappeared to their dorm rooms and, taking advantage of the brief privacy, stuffed satchels with kunais, shuriken, scrolls, and other weapons they'd hidden in their trunks. They lined their bags with a black, form-fitting uniform they would use for disguise to make it look like the bags were filled with clothes.

When they met up five minutes later, the students wished them happy Christmases and safe trips again, and they returned the wishes likewise.

Another five minutes found them outside Dumbledore's office knocking on the door.

"Come in," his voice met them just as pleasantly as ever. Sakura opened the door and led the way in.

As usual, Dumbledore sat behind his great mahogany desk, but in front of it now stood a plump little redheaded woman, and while Dumbledore's expression was serene, her expression was angry.

"Konoha shinobi," began Dumbledore, "meet Molly Weasley. She has raised a few concerns about your trustworthiness, so I thought it best to introduce you beforehand."

"Albus, they're _children_! You can't be _serious_!" She sounded as though a bad day had just gotten worse.

"What makes you think this is our true appearance?" returned Sasuke, crossing his arms and giving her an unimpressed once-over.

She gaped at him a moment, then regained her ability to speak. "Well, if it's not, why should I trust you at all?"

"You don't have to trust us," said Sasuke. "You just have to pay us."

She gaped at him again. Sakura shot him a narrow look. She stepped forward.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. Please, excuse my insubordinate." She smirked at Sasuke's stiffening at that, and then continued, "My name is Sakura Haruno. That was Sasuke Uchiha, and the other is Naruto Uzumaki. We are very pleased to make your acquaintance." She bowed low and straightened, proud to see Naruto mimic her, even if a little half-heartedly. "I assure you, while Harry is our charge, nothing will touch him. We will, of course, protect you and your family as well. You have no reason to be anxious around us."

Mrs. Weasley turned her attention to the girl, and Sakura didn't know if it was her pink hair, tone, or speech that made the difference, but she seemed to relax fractionally. Eventually, she sighed.

"How old are you, dear?" she asked heavily. "Is that really your face?"

Sakura smiled wryly. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but you must realize that in our line of work, that knowledge could get us killed very easily. It would hinder our mission more than help it." At Mrs. Weasley's saddened expression, however, she added more gently, "We are, however, adults. You shouldn't worry over our own safety."

Mrs. Weasley nodded heavily. "I can't believe the war has come to this," she muttered, but whether to herself, Dumbledore, or the shinobi, Sakura couldn't tell. At length, she looked back at Dumbledore and said, "Albus, are you sure?"

Dumbledore bowed his head once. "Molly, I would stake my life on their honor."

That, and Sakura's bracing expression, was apparently what she had needed. She nodded slowly. "Alright. I'll trust you, of course. But please, give me a little more notice in the future before you bring fairy tales to life, alright, Albus?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "But of course, Molly. Now, gentlemen and lady, could you please demonstrate your disguise, so Mrs. Weasley doesn't stun you by unlucky mistake?"

The shinobi nodded and quickly henged into the outfits they would wear.

So, three new figures stood before Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley. Their heights corresponded to their real heights, but everything else was so different, Harry and Ron would never guess. They wore form-fitting black outfits with green multi-pocketed vests and plain white masks. Their hair had turned to nondescript shades of brown, Naruto and Sasuke's a similar sort length, while Sakura's grew longer. They stood at attention, their postures immediately going from laid-back school children to perfect, graceful, lethal machines. It was chilling.

"We'll need to speak in English the entire time," said a strange, hard female voice, "with altered voices. Otherwise, they might connect it to our school personas."

"Agreed," said another strange male voice, sounding like a low hiss. "And Naruto, where's our fourth member?"

"Huh? Kakashi-sensei's still in the – ohhh, _that_ fourth member! _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" Beside the male on the left appeared a third male, this one with dark brown hair slightly longer than the other two's. "Great, huh?"

"Fantastic," agreed the female voice drolly. "We'll use the names of our summons for our codenames, agreed? It'll be easiest to remember. So, Snake, Toad, and Slug. And we'll assume the fourth member is Kakashi and refer to him as Dog."

"Agreed," said three male voices.

Sakura turned back to Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley. "Is this acceptable?"

Dumbledore beamed. "Perfect."

Mrs. Weasley gave a short nod, eyeing the shadow clone warily. "…Alright."

"If that's all," began one of the males, and the henge released to show Naruto, "then why did you say we were leaving tonight? Now what'll we do until tomorrow?"

Sakura and Sasuke also released their henges. The Shadow Clone disappeared.

"I thought you might like a chance to familiarize yourself with the Burrow before you restart the mission tomorrow," chirped Dumbledore, motioning to Mrs. Weasley. "Would that be alright with you, Molly?"

Mrs. Weasley sighed. "If it's to keep the children safe, I'm alright with anything, Albus."

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Christmas at the Burrow wasn't quite the same with ninjas thriving in the shadows. From the moment they were introduced, Harry knew he'd never get used to that expressionless white mask, staring at him though he couldn't see it, and the poise that suggested they could kill in cold, calculated precision at any moment.

"Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred, George," said Mrs. Weasley, and her expression was strained as it had been living at Grimmauld Place, "These are Slug, Toad, Snake, and Dog. They'll be staying with us for a while. They'll be protecting us, so please be respectful – _and don't prank them_!" she added furiously to Fred and George, who had moved closer together with mischievous glints in their eyes.

They held up their hands innocently. It might have helped if they weren't also holding their wands, which inexplicably flopped into rubber chickens.

One of the male ninjas snickered. Harry wondered exactly how professional that was for a killer, and then he shuddered at the realization. He was not only surrounded by four ninjas – he was surrounded by four professional killers. Were these people – _things_, because for all he knew, they were more like dementors under those masks – any better than Death Eaters?

The female's mask turned slightly toward him at the miniscule movement, and he froze before shifting uncomfortably.

Ron, however, asked, "Are all ninjas named after animals? And who names their daughter '_Slug_'? That sounds pretty degrading, if you ask me."

"They're codenames," growled a hard, cutting feminine voice, and Ron blanched.

The male that had snickered before snickered again.

"Toad," hissed one of the other males, whom Mrs. Weasley had indicated was Snake, "shut up."

His voice was an eerie cross between Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy; Harry would have no trouble remembering him as 'Snake.' That and he was the only one with _a freaking_ _sword strapped to his back_.

"They'll be staying in Percy's room, and they've asked me to let you know it's completely off-limits from now on," continued Mrs. Weasley. "So, Fred, George, that'll put Bill in with you, and Fleur with you, Ginny."

Ginny swore quietly. Mrs. Weasley, instead of reproaching her, gave her a sympathetic look.

"Alright, is there anything you'd like to add?" Mrs. Weasley finished, looking back to Slug.

"That's all, thank you," said Slug, inclining her head slightly.

With that, Slug, Snake, and Dog blurred before completely vanishing from sight, leaving Toad to explain, "They'll take positions watching the perimeter and outside of the house. I'll be keeping watch in here for now." And he melted into the shadows. Within seconds, no Weasley or Harry could tell where he really was.

It was creepy, Harry decided. And what kind of Apparition was that? They blurred; they didn't _pop_. He took a moment to remember Hermione's explanation of their 'different magic' and grudgingly attributed it to that.

And so the holidays began.

In general, the wizards and ninjas gave each other a wide berth: the ninjas as professional courtesy, and the wizards because the ninjas were just too chilling for the Christmas spirit.

Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George occasionally convinced Bill to play Quidditch with them so they'd have even teams, but when they were outside, they never caught sight of the other three ninja guarding the outdoors. Harry could occasionally tell that they changed places, because he had caught sight of the female lurking in the shadows indoors once or twice. As it was, he couldn't tell the males apart well enough to discover how long their shifts were. And all the while, Percy's door stayed locked. They only time Harry actually saw a ninja near it was when he and Ron walked by, loudly debating who was looking best in the Quidditch season so far.

Dog dropped to the ground in front of the door, almost as if he had been attached to the ceiling.

"I would be quieter if I were you," he informed them cheerfully, not reacting to their near-heart attacks at his sudden appearance. "Snake is trying to sleep in there."

"What's he doing sleeping?" demanded Ron, getting over it first. "It's four in the afternoon! Dumbledore ought to have his head for sleeping on the job!"

Dog cocked his head to the side, literally like a dog. Then he stated, as though curious about Ron's reaction, "Snake has been patrolling the perimeter for forty-eight hours straight. Can you stay awake that long and still perform to the best of your abilities?"

Ron gaped.

"We're sorry," said Harry, stepping forward and trying to ease the building hostility. "We didn't realize you were working through the night. We'll keep it down."

Dog nodded and did the blurring-disappearing thing.

"I wonder if they sleep with their masks off…" said Ron, now staring at the door hungrily.

Harry couldn't help his own burning curiosity as he thought about it, too. But he shook his head. "What if he woke up, though? He'd probably kill us on reflex or something. Dog made him sound like a foul waker, didn't he?"

"He can't be worse than Sasuke," retorted Ron. "He's set the dorm on fire a few times, and we survived."

"But Sasuke's still just a student," countered Harry. "This is a fully trained _killer_."

Ron brushed aside the comment with, "But they're not allowed to hurt us," and reached for the door.

It opened just before his hand touched it.

They faced Snake, his plain white mask, short brown hair, and homicidal waves of fury. "One more word," he snarled, "and I'll electrocute both of you until your fucking windpipes turn to ash and crumble out your goddamn asses, clients or not. Do I make myself clear?"

They stared. He slammed the door shut. There was the sound of snickering from the ceiling.

Ron and Harry continued on to their room, quieter than they'd even been in the Burrow.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Sakura flipped through the trees like an acrobat, bored and entertaining herself. She loved the forest surrounding the Burrow; it was more like the forest surrounding Konoha than Hogwarts' Forbidden Forest, which was only similar to the Forest of Death. She twirled expertly through their traps of exploding tags and soared gracefully over the trip wires on the ground. Only a shinobi would have a ghost of a chance getting through these with all their limbs in tact; and even shinobis would have trouble with some of the more creative ones.

Sakura let herself fall below the line of chakra-sensing strings and caught a slim branch with a gloved hand, clutching it expertly and swinging back to her original height once she was clear. The sudden appearance of Naruto almost made her fall into the hidden spike-pits waiting below.

"MORON!" she bellowed, allowing him to help her back onto his branch. "Don't surprise me like that! You're not Kakashi!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, probably grinning sheepishly behind his mask. "Did I really? I've been getting pretty good at this stealth thing since that prank with Tsunade, ha-ha…."

Sakura rolled her eyes behind her own mask. "Is it already my turn to take the inside? It feels like I was just there…."

"Well, it'd be Sasuke's turn if he'd do it," muttered Naruto darkly. "Bastard refuses to go inside except to sleep."

Sakura forgot her annoyance in favor of concern. She let her brow furrow. "Do you know what's going on with him? He never used to pick and choose like this. Is something bothering him?"

Naruto shrugged. "It's probably just that it's a big family. You know. Alive. During the holidays."

"…Oh." Sakura hesitated. "And are _you_…?"

Naruto laughed too loudly for her to finish. "Aw, Sakura-chan. You know me. I'm having fun. I'm spending Christmas with the only family I've got."

Sakura smiled and nodded once. "Right. I'm glad you're okay, Naruto. I guess you and 'Dog' can take over out here. I need to catch a shower inside, anyway. See you in a few hours."

"See you, Slug," Naruto saluted warmly.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

Naruto was on house-guard Christmas Eve, pondering what Mr. Weasley's "famous eggnog" was, when he was suddenly assaulted with a week's worth of information.

_Dog popped_, he realized through the brief, confusing haze of overlapping memories. And when the memories came to an end… _Dog was popped by a foreign shinobi! -Sakura and Sasuke!_

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_" he exclaimed, eliciting several surprised gasps from the Weasleys, Harry, Remus, and Tonks, who had forgotten he was in the room. A clone, disguised as another Toad, appeared at his side. Naruto called to the wizards, already leaping towards the window, "If anything happens, throw stuff at my clone until he pops, and one of us will come! But stay in here!"

With that, he was out the window and leaping towards Dog's previous location. He didn't have to go far.

The shinobis were locked in combat with Sakura and Sasuke just inside the perimeter of traps. _How did they get past all the traps?! _It was a four-man cell against the two, and Naruto made his entrance with an attempted kunai to the throat of one of the two battling Sakura. The shinobi – his hiat-te and vest distinguished him as a Mist chuunin or jounin – countered his attack with a windmill shuriken in one fluid movement, and used the momentum to throw Naruto off balance.

"What are you doing?" demanded Sasuke as he ducked a blow and drew his katana in one quick as lightning movement. He lashed out with the sword, but both opponents leapt over it and landed on opposite sides of him, forcing him to fight a two-sided battle. "Guard Potter!"

"I left a clone!" shouted Naruto, summoning another clone and preparing a Rasengan. It took too long. One of Sakura's opponents left her to fight Naruto fully and riddled his clone with senbon before the chakra could finish shaping. It wasn't a smart move. The only thing that had kept them safe from Sakura was their combined ability to keep her too busy blocking for her to attack. Now that she only faced one, her Mist opponent was done for. All it took was one good punch, and he went crashing into the ground, his skidding body ripping up half a mile of dirt in his wake.

"Hell yeah!" Sakura roared at his prone form before turning to help Naruto.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he cried again, and four Toads and one Slug charged the Mist ninja.

He was good. He set the windmill shuriken spinning and slashed through two clones and had Sakura reeling to dodge in a single movement. He hadn't, however, accounted for the other two Narutos to be preparing a Rasengan in his distraction. Sakura attacked head-on again, forcing the man to shield his front while Naruto flipped over his head and forced the Rasengan into his unguarded back. He had started to duck below the swirling chakra, but Sakura landed an uppercut in his chest, forcing him back up into it.

Blood splattered her vest. Naruto pulled back a dripping hand.

They turned to find Sasuke had already disposed of both opponents, but Naruto couldn't tell from the sizzling sounds whether it had been some form of lightning or fire that had done the trick. It was the bloodied sword that made him realize Sasuke had probably run lightning down the length of it and stabbed them. And from Sasuke's stilled, alert pose, he was probably surveying the rest of the perimeter with Sharingan for more intruders.

"They were pawns," he murmured suddenly, spinning around to the east. "To locate the traps and distract us – _Death Eaters_!"

Just as he said it, fire roared into life from the east, shooting across the dry December grass to encircle the Burrow. Naruto barely had time to notice Harry, Mr. Weasley, Remus, and Tonks in the doorway before a strange song met his ears.

In a flare of ash and shadow, a dark-haired woman with a manic grin appeared just inside the flames. She looked directly at Harry, sang, "I KILLED SIRIUS BLACK, I KILLED SIRIUS BLACK!" and pranced through the flames.

Naruto vaguely heard Sasuke breathe, "Bellatrix Lestrange," before Harry ripped through Mr. Weasley's and Remus' arms took off after her.

Naruto shot off after him, feeling Sasuke on his heels. He landed in front of Harry, still just inside the circle of fire, and grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop.

"We have to go after her!" bellowed Harry, eyes wild with hatred, darting to Bellatrix's possible locations behind the raging heat. "She's a Dark wizard, you have to catch her!"

"We're ninjas, not Aurors!" snapped Snake. "All we have to do is protect your dumb ass!" His bloody, dripping sword punctuated the sentence more somberly than his annoyed exclamation could ever have.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! SHE KILLED MY GODFATHER! _SHE KILLED HIM_!"

"Godfather?" repeated Naruto, not releasing Harry's arm despite his violent wrenching. Harry had never mentioned a murdered godfather, and neither had Dumbledore during their briefings. He thought suddenly of Jiraiya – dead – and some bastard shinobi prancing about singing, screaming with laughter about it…. He closed his eyes behind the emotionless white mask.

"Sirius Black! The closest thing I had to a father! And she just killed him, right in front of me! I'm not letting her escape – not again!"

_Pervy Sage…._

"Well, fuck, why didn't you just say so?" snapped Naruto, and instead of holding onto Harry's arm to stop him, he used his grip to drag him forward faster than his wizard-feet could follow. "Come on, let's get that psycho bitch!"

"_Toad_!" Sasuke shouted, angry at the idiot's complete inability to see a trap when he was running right into one. Toad ignored him. "Goddamn it," Sasuke growled under his breath and, making his decision, he took off after them.

"Hey, what the hell are you- ?" he heard Sakura shout, cussing and giving chase. And with that, Team Seven raced into the trap, leaving the Burrow alone but for a single clone and four half-dead Mist shinobis.

**

* * *

A/N: Hey, guys! Hope you liked that mild cliff-hanger. I was going to end it at Naruto realizing shinobis were attacking, but I decided to be nice and continue. Anyways, for the record, NO PAIRINGS in this story. I'll do canon emotions, but 'romance' is not in my vocabulary. Sorry all you romance fans! I hope the canon love is enough.**

**Besides that, have I mentioned how thankful I am to all my outstanding reviewers? THANK YOU, all! I feel so honored to have such a nice audience. =)**


	12. Fallen Masks

**A/N: Hey guys! Yeah, sorry for using the movie theme. Usually I'm "book" 100 percent of the way, but this part actually works better with my plot. So there we have it. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 11: Fallen Masks**

Harry didn't know how, but they somehow ran fast enough to catch up to the screaming, laughing witch. He could hear her thrashing in the tall grass just ahead of them. And he didn't know how, but Slug and Snake caught up to them from even farther back.

"_I killed Sirius Black, I killed Sirius Black!_"

They were probably a quarter of a mile from the Burrow and its flames when Snake hissed, "More shinobi - Toad, you incompetent dumbass!"

Harry was too filled with rage, too disoriented by being half-dragged at the speed of light, to wonder how professional these killers were being. He only hoped they were good at their jobs and wouldn't let them all get killed just to take down Bellatrix Lestrange. At the moment, he thought it'd be worth it to shut that singing, shrieking mouth forever, but another part of his mind was chanting: _Wait for Voldemort, wait for Voldemort before you die…._

The ring of metal on metal didn't make sense until he saw Snake and Slug take point with a sword and – _there's one of those dagger-things Naruto had with Itachi!_ – drawn, flicking them faster than his eye could follow, sending other projectile blades shooting into the grass field around them. They were being targeted by thrown daggers? What the hell was going on?

"_I killed Sirius Black! I killed Sirius Black, ha-ha-ha-ha! Come and get me, wittle Potter baby! I killed Sirius Black!_"

When magical jets of light started shooting at them as well, Harry discovered ducking and dodging at this ridiculous speed was a lot harder than these ninjas made it look, but, luckily, Toad maintained the presence of mind to jerk him out of the way, even when he himself had to bolt in another direction to avoid a spell. Somehow, Toad never let him go, and they never stopped in their pursuit. And they were never hit by flying dagger or jetted curse.

Distantly, he realized it probably wasn't an exaggeration that these ninja-things were worth a battalion of Aurors each.

"Fuck," said Snake, coming to an abrupt halt, his posture scarily, lethally, tensed. Slug and Toad made similar halts, but Harry found himself jolted forward by his momentum, held back only by Toad's grip. "We're surrounded. Mist shinobis and Death Eaters."

"Shinobis?" repeated Harry, panting from the run and still looking around wildly for Bellatrix.

"Ninjas," muttered Toad, taking up a defensive position beside Harry. He clutched a dagger-thing one hand, held at the ready, same as Slug. Harry had to admit Snake's long, bloodied sword was more comforting than those little daggers in this situation.

"Snake," muttered Slug, "how many do you think you could get with a fire technique right now?"

"And set this entire field on fire? I don't think so," returned Snake coldly. "This field must be part of the trap. Bellatrix knows my techniques."

"B-Bella-" repeated Harry in amazement. "_How do you know Bellatrix Lestrange?_"

"Quiet," snapped Snake. "Slug, you guard Potter. Toad and I will spring the trap. Toad-"

"Got it," Toad interrupted, and Harry got the feeling he was grinning behind that blank mask. The next thing Harry knew, Slug was where Toad had been, and the two males were nowhere in sight in the tall grass.

He saw a flash of what looked like lightning from his left one second; it reappeared a few feet over the next second, and a few more feet over in another second. Each strike was accompanied by a horrible, bone-chilling gagging sound and a dull thud. To the right, there was the strange sound of, "_Rasengan!_" and something that sounded like wind moving very fast. There were the same chokes and thuds, and all over were the sounds of thrashing grass and scuffling feet.

It hadn't been a full five seconds before he heard Bellatrix's wild laughter again, and the sound went to his head like blood in the water to a shark.

"Harry!" shouted Slug, trying to grab him as he suddenly shot out towards the laughter, wand raised. "Harry, stop!"

Grass lashed against his face, his arms, but he pushed forward without care until he stumbled into a murky, shallow pond. And standing in front of him, waiting with a ferocious grin, was Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Aw, did Potty manage to escape his ickle guardies?" she taunted. "Did Potty come to avenge his dear, dead godpoppy?"

"Shut up!" Harry roared, and brandished his wand. "_Crucio_!"

She shielded and laughed manically again. "Still don't mean it enough, do you, Potty?"

She raised her wand to attack, but suddenly screamed instead, clutching her hand to her chest, wand dropped into the water. Harry stared in disbelief. Her hand had a strange, long needle stuck through it. It sparked with electricity.

Bellatrix got over her disbelief first and cackled. "I don't believe it," she said, turning towards where the lightning strikes had been coming from. Harry turned in the same direction and found Snake standing at the edge of the pond, arm still raised from throwing the needle. Bellatrix took in the mask, vest, black outfit, and katana with utter delight. "The Dark Lord said we might run into you again, cutie-pie. It's been too long. Although, I must say, I like what you've done to your hair. Potion or jutsu?"

"I believe you have me mistaken," hissed Snake, drawing another needle. "Potter, you wanted to fight her. This is your last chance before I disable her myself."

And Harry didn't doubt Snake could.

He turned back to Bellatrix, rage still pumping through his veins like acid. She grinned at him, still holding her hand to her chest.

Harry's heart pounded in his ears as he raised his wand again. "Pick up your wand!" he snarled.

She stared at him a split second before laughing that horrible, screeching laugh. "Don't you understand anything, Potter?" she snapped, suddenly serious. "You don't offer your opponents time to recover!"

"I won't kill a defenseless woman, even if she is a murdering bitch like you," Harry snarled, his hand shaking as he tried to hold it back from doing exactly what he said he wouldn't.

"Potter-!" warned Snake, and then he suddenly leapt, just a split second before Bellatrix snatched up her wand from the water and whipped it at them with a scream.

Snake crashed into Harry just in time, knocking them both underwater, away from the jet of red light. Harry gasped in surprise, taking in a lungful of thick pond water, and when Snake rolled over to allow him to resurface, he violently hacked it up.

"Aw, I'm hurt, Sasuke," cooed Bellatrix. "You're not even using Sharingan!"

Harry's head snapped towards Snake so fast, he though he'd throw up from the whiplash.

There, in Snake's black clothes and green vest, with his short brown hair, still clutching the gleaming sword, was Sasuke's face, bloody at the temple where the strap of his white mask had been.

Floating in the water in front of them was the red-splattered mask.

They hadn't dodged her curse completely, then.

"_Sasuke_?" Harry choked, lungs still burning from the water.

Sasuke's blue-black eyes snapped onto his with the same smothered anger that had been in Snake's hiss. Indeed, the Sharingan weren't activated.

"_What the hell __**is**__ this_?" demanded Harry, baffled and not just a little outraged.

"DOWN, YOU IDIOT!"

For the second time in about ten seconds, Sasuke knocked Harry underwater. For the second time, Harry surfaced to find that Sasuke hadn't dodged completely. Now the sleeve of his black shirt had been ripped open and was seeping blood. This time, however, Sasuke was on his feet –_on top of the water_-, sword raised. Harry's head spun when he realized that Sasuke Uchiha, the foreign Gryffindor, had the same cold, deadly poise of an assassin, of _Snake_, the _ninja_.

_Sasuke was a freaking ninja._

"Aw, a sword?" said Bellatrix with an enraging little pout. "And I wanted to see the Dark Lord's specially made wand!"

"Tough luck," said Sasuke coldly, his eyes only slightly narrowed in dislike. "I never did get the hang of _Avada Kedavra_, and there's no other spell I'd want to use on you."

"Oh?" smirked Bellatrix. She threw a look over Sasuke's shoulder to Harry. "But your Cruciatus was fantastic. You should consider giving Potter lessons."

"Enough," hissed Sasuke, and he swung the katana faster than Harry's eye could follow.

The sound of metal-on-metal clanged like an explosion in front of him. The next thing Harry saw was inexplicable. Two men, both clearly adults and both several times larger than Sasuke, had crossed their blades to intercept his. They were wearing metal plates with a strange symbol around their foreheads like the ones Naruto and Sakura tied to their school bags. Now, it was blindingly clear that 'school emblem' was a lie.

_So Sakura and Naruto are ninjas, too? _

For a moment, Sasuke leaned into the parry as if he thought he could overpower the men, and Harry wondered what the hell he was thinking. But the men pushed forward in tandem and Sasuke was forced to leap backwards, away from his adversaries. His expression as he landed was a little too neutral. Harry suddenly wished he had learned to read his 'friend' better at Hogwarts so he might know what that particular branch of expressionlessness meant about this battle.

At length, Sasuke addressed them in Japanese. His voice was the same cold, unfamiliar hiss of Snake. Harry briefly wondered which was real: the Snake persona or the Sasuke Uchiha persona. At the moment, Sasuke seemed to fall most easily into Snake.

The two men jeered, and one of them responded also in Japanese. Harry noticed Bellatrix, who had stood smirking behind her body guards, cast them a look as irritated as Harry felt at being left out.

"Enough chitchat," she snapped. "You have your orders. We grab Potter and the foreign brats. The Dark Lord is waiting."

Sasuke's sword hadn't fallen from an offensive position since his landing, and now, as a cloud drifted away from the moon, it gleamed dangerously in the pale light. His expression didn't change. "Good luck."

The movements were too fast to follow, too unusual to comprehend. All Harry could tell was that the metallic clangs were deafening, and the three seemed evenly matched for about ten seconds. And then Toad flew in with a handful of spinning white light.

The two-against-one match split into two duels without a word or break in pace. Now, Harry could see the moves better.

Sasuke's blade wasn't just a blade. It crackled with electricity – and not the sparks of fast, hard blows, though those were definitely present – it was the electricity of lightning itself. And it leapt out from the body of the sword with a life of its own at unpredictable intervals, causing the opposing ninja to have to leap high into the air to avoid being struck, though it made contact several times.

The other ninja didn't give up, however. His own sword was shorter, wider, and thicker, like a metal club that narrowed into one razor-sharp edge. It looked like it could break Sasuke's long, thin sword clean in two, but it never did, and Harry didn't know enough about swords or the ninjas' fighting methods to have a clue as to why not. The opposing ninja, like Sasuke used lighting to complement his attacks, used water to complete his. Jets of water shot out of the pond at his command, blasting towards Sasuke like snakes, like bullets, or like cannon balls, usually faster than Harry could tell the difference. And Sasuke leapt, ducked, and dived to avoid every one of them.

For seconds that felt like an eternity, the two ducked, struck, dodged, leapt, advanced, and retreated, swinging, thrusting, twisting, and parrying until Harry's eyes stung from trying to see everything.

When it became too much, he turned his sight towards Toad's fight. Was this Naruto, or was Dog Naruto? If Harry had to hazard a guess going off what he had seen of the guards' personalities so far, he would have to say this one was more like Naruto. He was the one that laughed most freely, let himself be seen more often, and he had dragged Harry into this trap, not to mention Sasuke seemed very used to calling him an incompetent dumbass. That was always a pretty good indicator, especially combined with the fact that they seemed to be able to read each others' minds while they were at it.

So Toad, now dubbed Naruto, didn't fight like Sasuke. Whereas Sasuke seemed mindbogglingly incredible at martial arts and swords, Naruto simply… multiplied. Indeed, Harry saw no less than three Toads at any given instance. They worked on overwhelming the opposing ninja in numbers, simply going at him with straightforward punches and kicks. Occasionally, two Narutos would lag behind the others and form that spinning ball of what looked like pure magic. They were usually destroyed in puffs of smoke before Harry had a chance to see what those whirling balls did, though.

Naruto's opponent was fast. He used his dagger-things with reckless speed, striking out at every Naruto that got too close, usually trading a deadly strike to a clone for a punch to the face from it or one behind it. But the Narutos kept coming. Within a minute, the enemy shinobi visibly slowed, wearing down from the constant, endless barrage. He kept at it, though, until Naruto finally started slowing, as well.

After what felt like an eternity, but was probably only a few minutes, Naruto, Sasuke, and the two other ninjas stood facing each other, panting slightly and glaring one another down.

"You don't have to fight," said Bellatrix from behind the two Mist ninjas. Her tone was serious, but her eyes glinted with the same mania that made Harry think she was permanently foaming at the mouth. "Sasuke, the Dark Lord is willing to take you back in complete forgiveness for your… defection. He's willing to accept your friends, as well. There's no need to kill these men, or be killed by them."

Sasuke's opponent sneered something in Japanese, but Sasuke ignored him and Bellatrix both. Naruto shouted back in English, "We're just getting warmed up, asshole! Wait 'til you see _this_!"

And thirty Narutos sprang straight out of the shallow pond water at the enemies' feet, some grabbing their ankles, others leaping higher and piling on top of their heads and torsos. Four more leapt up a split second later, two of them wielding the rapidly rotating balls of magic. They dove down into the pile of other Narutos, who made just enough of openings for the hits.

But suddenly, where the enemy ninjas had been, there were only two logs and the faint remains of smoke. The two Mist ninjas smirked at them from the banks of the pond, both battered but still confident.

Ignoring the failure, Sasuke called, "Sakura, now!"

Without a split second's hesitation, Slug, obviously Sakura, appeared in a blur of motion, landing in a crouch between the two enemies.

"HYAH!" she shouted, punching the ground at their feet.

To Harry's utter amazement, the top foot of ground in a quarter-mile radius, including the pond water, ripped itself from the deeper soil and rose into the air with the force of the punch.

Naruto, shouted something in Japanese, and Harry watched as the biggest ball of whirling magic yet formed in hurricane-like glory. He yelled as he dove forward with it. Though the enemy ninjas, Bellatrix, and Sakura dodged out of the line of fire, it flung the still-airborne grass far and wide, leaving the vicinity completely made of dirt and water.

Before the dirt returned to the ground, before the enemies had a chance to figure out what was going on, Sasuke had taken a deep breath. Naruto and Sakura disappeared beneath the ground just a split second before it happened.

Harry watched, completely numb with disbelief, as Sasuke shot fire straight out of his mouth. _Like a freaking dragon._

When it was over, Slug and Toad appeared out of the pond on either side of Harry. They stood on top of the water, though they had already gotten wet coming up from the ground below it. They held themselves at the ready, though the Mist ninjas and Bellatrix were nowhere in sight.

For a second, the only sound was the sizzling, formerly wet dirt.

For several seconds, when the sizzling died down to a silent steam, there was no sound except for Harry's own uneven breathing.

And then Sasuke said, "They're gone. Disapparition and transportation jutsus." He turned to Slug. "Did you tend to any of the wounded?"

Slug nodded. "None of them were in real danger. Just a little crispy and bloody. You and Naruto avoided their vitals perfectly."

Sasuke gave a short nod. "We should secure them and keep them for questioning. I don't like it that they were all Mist. I can't tell if they're Kisame's or Voldemort's. Maybe an independent party's altogether."

"Right," Slug nodded. There was a second of silence in which she glanced back at Harry and took in his lost, enraged, and numb expression. "Um… Snake… did you notice your mask is off?"

Sasuke gave her _such_ a Sasuke Look, if Harry had had any doubts who he was, it was completely erased. He didn't deign to respond, but instead activated his Sharingan and surveyed the mostly demolished field.

Slug sighed and reached into her hair to remove her mask. On Harry's other side, Toad did the same.

One second later, Sakura smiled at him grimly, tugging on her long brown hair, and Naruto waved sheepishly with his own short brown hair.

"You're not serious," said Harry through numb lips. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to remember to breathe. "So, all this time…?" His voice shook with suppressed emotion, though what those emotions were, Harry didn't even know.

He heard Sakura sigh. "Dumbledore hired us to guard you for the year, Harry," she murmured. "But that doesn't mean that we didn't become friends, because we did. That was real. That _is_ real."

"Real?" repeated Harry, and he couldn't stop the laughter that cut his throat on its way up. "_Real_? How much of what you've told me has been _real_? How much has just been lies, a cover story, _bullshit_? Huh? _What was real?_"

"I'm still Sakura, Harry. He's still Naruto, and Sasuke is still Sasuke. _We're_ real," said Sakura, her eyes set resolutely. "We've kept things as close to the truth as we possibly could without betraying the secrets of our village."

"Without telling me you're bloody mercenaries, you mean!" snapped Harry. His voice was rising, and he didn't care. Why hadn't Dumbledore just told him? Why hadn't they been upfront about it? He'd had guards before; he hadn't freaked out about it then. Why did they have to baby him behind his back? Why did they have to baby him at all? Didn't Dumbledore trust him by now?

"Dumbledore preferred we keep our identities a secret," mumbled Naruto, and Harry turned to find him looking at the ground with stormy eyes. "He didn't tell us why. This isn't how we usually operate."

When Naruto talked about "identities" and "usually operating," Harry felt the true depth of the charade. Naruto was supposed to be happy and go-lucky, a careless Japanese kid, not a ninja wearing that sort of mask for one mission out of a hundred.

Harry closed his eyes. It surprised him, really, how little he cared about Bellatrix's escape in light of this new information. Bellatrix hadn't betrayed him. He'd always known she was a psychotic bitch who meant to kill anyone related to the Order. But these three had tried to worm their ways into his heart, all the while hiding a secret agenda.

"Is it so wrong to find out your average friends are actually outstanding friends who only want to protect you?" asked Naruto, turning glistening blue eyes to Harry.

Harry stomped down the voice in his head that immediately berated him for hurting Naruto. _Nobody_ should make Naruto so unhappy – what's he ever done to deserve that?

And even as he thought it, Harry realized his own ridiculousness. Hermione had made a list of suspicious things about the Japanese students – all the subtle little clues that could fool anyone but the brightest witch of their generation – but nobody had even noticed that Naruto had blond hair and blue eyes. What kind of Japanese person looked like that? Sakura had explained her pink hair with a potions accident, and that went over easily. That sort of thing happened all the time in the Wizarding world. But blond hair and blue eyes? It was so common at Hogwarts, they hadn't even thought about it being unusual in another country.

Now that he noticed, Sasuke was the only one who looked even _remotely_ Japanese. Even his skin was too utterly _white_, though. _Unless he's secretly one of those geisha women who paint their faces_, Harry reconsidered but then sighed at the ridiculous notion. Even the thought of Sasuke in elaborate dresses wasn't funny, now.

_We were all idiots_, he thought, resisting the urge to hold his face in his hands. _Complete – __**idiots**__._

"Harry?" Sakura asked hesitantly. She reached forward as if to hold onto his shoulder, but Harry took a step back.

He shook his head. "Just stay away from me," he snapped and turned to stalk away.

"Not possible," said Sasuke, and suddenly he was walking directly beside Harry, despite his having been several meters away only a second before. "We were hired to protect you, and we will. It's nonnegotiable."

Sakura and Naruto did the same thing. Harry snarled and started running, forgetting how impressed he'd been with their speed only minutes ago.

Needless to say, they matched him effortlessly.

"Just leave me alone!" he bellowed, coming to a stop. "I'm sick of this – I'm not doing it anymore! I'm tired of being lied to and treated like a little kid! I don't need guards; not if they're going to pretend like they care about anything besides me beating Voldemort! Just stop it and get lost!"

"We don't care about you beating Voldemort," Sasuke pointed out. "We won't even let you near him, actually. He's too dangerous for you."

Harry felt the rage in him pounding through his veins like lava, too fierce to be contained by his skin much longer. He was about to explode.

"Ano, Sasuke-kun, maybe now isn't the time…," muttered Sakura, looking between Harry and Sasuke, her brow furrowed and eyes worried.

"No, Sakura," snapped Sasuke, glaring at Harry with more disdain than anything. "Harry's decided he doesn't want to be lied to, hasn't he? So here's the truth: You're not getting out of our sight. If you so much as think of 'beating Voldemort' under our watch, we'll take out the bastard before he can so much as lift his wand in your presence. That's our job, and I, for one, haven't failed a mission yet. Furthermore, now that you know we're ninjas, you're going to keep our secret from the rest of the school, because we will not tolerate those questions you pathetic little children will undoubtedly come up with, given the opportunity. As far as I'm concerned, we're still operating undercover. Our identities have not been compromised at Hogwarts, where the bulk of the mission will take place."

Harry scowled. Mission, mission, mission, mission. Is that all he was, now? It wasn't even about Voldemort? These people were even more enraging than the Order members that only fawned over him because he was supposed to beat Voldemort for them.

These people didn't care at all. They were just getting paid.

Biting his tongue to keep himself from screaming at them, he turned and began stalking back towards the Burrow.

After a moment, he snapped, "I'm not promising to keep this quiet. It's your problem if people know you're _ninjas_," he spat the word like a curse, "not mine. It's your job to deal with it, isn't it?"

"We're not asking for your consent," returned Sasuke with proportional coldness. "You just saw Naruto clone himself and manipulate pure, tangible _magic_ with more control than even Dumbledore could presume. You just saw Sakura break the goddamn _ground_, not to mention me breathe fire." He smirked and concluded, "You're not going to tell."

"I don't do well with threats," Harry growled, pulling out his wand even as they continued striding towards the house. "Don't think you scare me for a _second_."

"It wasn't a threat," Naruto cut across. Harry noticed with that familiar tinge of guilt that Naruto's expression was still upset. "That's just the bastard's way of saying you won't tell because no one would believe you. Remember when I said it was a shame he was the only English-speaker because he's so bad at speaking?"

"No," said Sasuke. "It was definitely a threat."

Naruto's pained expression morphed to rage so fast Harry stopped walking out of shock.

"BASTARD, UNLIKE YOU, SOME OF US ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT FRIENDSHIP, SO JUST SHUT YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH FOR _TWO MINUTES_! AND YOU CAN CUT OUT THAT SHIT ABOUT BEING THE ONLY ONE TO NEVER FAIL A MISSION, TOO, BECAUSE THE ONLY MISSIONS I _EVER_ FAILED WERE THE ONES TO BRING YOUR GODDAMN SORRY ASS BACK! SO JUST SHUT UP, BECAUSE _I DON'T NEED YOUR SHIT RIGHT NOW_!"

Maybe the same shock that had halted Harry was what rendered Sasuke silent.

Either way, Naruto and Sasuke stood toe-to-toe, Naruto red with shattering rage, and Sasuke blank and silent.

Finally, Naruto huffed and took a step back. When he looked over his shoulder, away from his friends and at nothing in particular, Harry caught tears glittering in the pale moonlight.

Sasuke looked in the opposite direction, expression stiff. Sakura had adopted Naruto's pained expression as she looked at the ground between them both.

"Hell," muttered Harry to himself, though he knew the shinobis would all hear. "Dumbledore always saddles me with the weirdest fucking guards he can find."

"We need to hurry back," murmured Sakura, ignoring the barb in favor of pushing all emotion aside. "We left four severely wounded shinobis with the Weasleys. I might be able to heal them enough for questioning."

Sasuke gave a nod. "Right. Potter if you start bitching again, I'm not opposed to knocking you out and dragging you back. Now, let's go."

Harry, remembering Sasuke's usual disregard of ethics after a good bitching at from Naruto back at Hogwarts, didn't doubt it. Grudgingly, he started walking again. The ninjas granted him silence.

Fakes. Bloody imposters, posers, bastards… killers, liars… no better than Voldemort or his Death Eaters…. How could Dumbledore willingly hire these – these _things_?

But even as he cussed them in his head, he noticed Sakura's shoulders, which had been rigid with authority when she donned her mask, beginning to slump in exhaustion. She was a killer, Harry thought, but hadn't Sasuke asked her about healing their enemies? Wasn't she trying to get to the other four to heal them, too? She wasn't cold blooded. Sakura volunteered at the hospital wing; she was already on the career pathway to Healing, McGonagall had said. She was a trained killer… but she was closing in on pure exhaustion because she wouldn't let even her enemies die.

And Naruto strode on the other side of Sakura; Naruto, who laughed and glowed, cried and dreamed without shame or restraint; Naruto, who showed his emotions even more openly than Harry, who had just taken down perhaps a dozen ninjas and Death Eaters combined to save Harry from his own stupidity. Naruto, who had purposefully 'missed their vitals,' even though he, too, was a trained killer.

Sasuke strode on Harry's left side, using Harry as a shield between him and his 'friends.'

Harry hated him.

He was callous, cold, and bitchy. Harry could easily hate him; he could easily force Sasuke to take the responsibility of all his anger at the situation, at all the lies and injustice, because Sasuke would take it in a heartbeat if it meant Harry would shut up quicker. Sasuke would take the blame in a heartbeat, because he didn't care about what Harry thought of him.

Naruto had understood love, loss, and the thirst for revenge enough to let Harry loose on Bellatrix. Sasuke had tried to stop them. Harry could hate him for that, too, because it was so entirely hypocritical. Didn't Sasuke exist solely to kill Itachi?

But even as Harry glared at Sasuke, hating him for everything, Harry could see the blood still trickling slowly from his temple. Harry could see the glisten of blood drenching his dark, tight sleeve below the fabric's bloody rip.

Sasuke was a bastard, but he had taken two curses to save Harry.

And, loathe though he was to admit it, Harry could see him, still, standing at the edge of the pond, telling Harry to take his chance before he stepped in. Sasuke had said they wouldn't let him near Voldemort because of their mission; but hadn't Sasuke just hung the mission to give Harry that one, brief chance to exact revenge?

Harry's eyes narrowed farther as he glared at Sasuke, but now it was more out of his own internal struggle.

Nonetheless, when Sasuke demanded, "What's your problem?" Harry scowled more darkly and turned his glare straight in front of them.

The flames still surrounded the Burrow, though they could hear Mr. Weasley, Remus, and Bill shouting spells from behind it, still apparently determined to go after Harry and the guards.

"I'll handle the fire," said Sasuke, and Harry glanced over to find himself looking into crimson eyes, which were fixed on the roaring flames. "Sakura, the shinobis. Naruto, Potter."

"You remember I'm the leader, right?" grumbled Sakura, leveling a Look at him.

Sasuke shrugged it off. "I said it for the dobe's benefit. You already knew the plan."

"Wait," said Harry, halting Naruto's retort. They placed him under expectant stares. He refused to squirm beneath them. Instead, he looked at Sakura. "Slug." She nodded. He turned to Naruto. "Toad." Naruto gave a short nod, uncertain. Finally, he glared at Sasuke. "Snake."

"Your point?" Sasuke drawled, glaring right back.

"Then who is Dog?"

Sakura answered, "He hasn't arrived yet."

"Are you mad? He's been here since the start of the break!"

"She means, the real Dog hasn't arrived yet," said Naruto, raising his hand sheepishly. "Dog has been one of my clones."

Harry stared. "…Oh. Right." He coughed. "Well, er… carry on, then."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, which were still crimson with the Sharingan. He glared at the fire and held his hands in front of his chest in a strange sign. His eyes narrowed even farther, and suddenly the flames began shrinking. Within two seconds, they vanished completely, and Sakura sprinted to their first battle site, all traces of exhaustion gone.

"HARRY!"

The Weasleys and Remus were on him faster than he could blink, all trying to ascertain how severely he was injured, all trying to find out what had happened, and where the Death Eaters had gone.

Harry couldn't get in a word through the continuous typhoon of questions.

Naturally, Sasuke snapped, "The situation is under control. Please return inside until we had re-secured the perimeter."

How his quiet voice was heard through all the questions when Harry's had been drowned out, Harry would never know. Nonetheless, however, the Weasleys froze at the sound and listened.

Until, "_Sasuke?_ And, oh hell, _Naruto_? What are you two doing here?"

Sasuke's eyes fixed coldly on Ron.

"You are," said Sasuke, "a _raging_ _dumbass_."

Fred and George roared with laughter, and Bill snickered to himself, but Mrs. Weasley launched into an outraged reprimand. Sasuke rolled his eyes, gave Naruto a pointed look, turned, and disappeared into the darkness.

"Where did he go?" demanded Mrs. Weasley, breaking off in the middle of her sentence.

Naruto chuckled. "To set up the perimeter," he chirped, then held his hands in a strange sign in front of his chest, like Sasuke had done only moments before. "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_"

Another Naruto appeared out of thin air. The original Naruto instructed, "Go watch his back."

"Right!" faux Naruto saluted and bounded off after Sasuke.

"Bloody hell!" exclaimed Ron. "How'd you do that?"

"He's a ninja, Ron," muttered Harry, his anger coming back as he said it aloud.

Ron turned startled eyes to his best friend. Then he looked back to Naruto with a newfound air of bewilderment. "_What_?"

"Does that mean Sakura…?" said Ginny, looking over to where Slug had disappeared.

Harry nodded, still scowling.

"That – is – so – _cool_!" Ginny turned and ran in Sakura's direction.

"Harry?" said Ron, taking a step away from Naruto to Harry's other side. He eyed Naruto with wary distrust.

"I know," Harry growled, also glaring at Naruto.

Ron seemed to absorb some of Harry's anger as he snarled, "I don't believe this! I thought you were our friend!"

It seemed Naruto wouldn't smile again that night. He looked like he was bravely enduring a stab wound to the chest.

Harry squashed that tiny feeling of guilt, and he and Ron lead the way back inside.

* * *

**A/N: Wow, three hundred reviews. You guys are so awesome! Here's hoping your Monday gets a little better. :)**


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